DEVOTIONS: He calls me Daughter.

By Leila Halawe | @LHalawe 

Daughter. He called me daughter.

As I stood at a prayer and worship night at church, arms stretched high with tears streaming down my face, I cried out to God. I opened up my heart to Him, showing Him all the hurt and anger and bitterness and heartache and resentment; I showed Him all the ugly that was withing me and in that moment, He whispered the word, 'daughter.'

Daughter.

Despite my rants and rages and the ugliness that was in my heart, He did not turn away; He drew near and He drew me near to Him and called me daughter. When others would have walked away, He came closer still. God did not shy away from my anger or hurt, He did not look away in disgust like some of us may have done. Instead, He leaned in and called me daughter. 

Daughter. I am His Daughter. I am His Child.

In that moment, God reminded me of a couple of things: firstly, I had lost sight of Him. It is so easy for us to forget God; to carry on with life and forget to take time to look into the eyes of Jesus and just be. In our flawed human state, we so easily forget that He is with us in the everyday moments of life. and so we go on without Him until we hit a stumbling block or a ditch and we find ourselves crying out to Him. Secondly, I had forgotten who I belonged to. I was the daughter of the Creator of the universe. Since the moment He created me, in this very moment now, and for all eternity, I was and am and always will be the daughter of the Creator of the universe. The King of kings and Lord of lords. That is who I belong to and that is where my identity comes from.

In a society that tries to shape our identity be telling us how to be and who to be and what to be, we need to remember that our identity is found in Christ, the One that created us and died for us. We have all had hurtful words spoken to us or over us. Maybe it was your parents as you were growing up telling you that you were a mistake. Or maybe it was the schoolyard bully picking on you while others looked on, or your teacher telling you that you would never amount to anything. Or it could have been your partner telling you that you were unlovable as they walked out the door. I'm not sure what it is for you but I can tell you this: when God looks at you He does not see a mistake or someone who is unworthy or unloveable, He sees His Child. He sees His son. He sees His daughter. And He looks down on you with a heart loves you more than you could ever comprehend.

Today, as you go about your day, take a moment and remind yourself that He is calling you Daughter. Or Son. And lift up your eyes and heart to your Heaven Father knowing that He loves you.

Note: This post was also published on Looking In.

Leila (Lays) Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, and shares her views on life and faith via her blog page Looking In . You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author  and via Twitter at Leila Halawe.

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DEVOTION: (In)Secure

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness." Jeremiah 31: (NASB) 

I tend to do a lot of travel, both domestically and internationally for work. And I love it. Really love it because I get to see new places and meet new people and people are fascinating, aren’t they? I could sit and people watch for hours, which I often do, choosing to do majority of my writing in cafes because you know, coffee. And coffee is manna from heaven, just in liquid form, so how can you pass that up? But I digress, so let’s get back to the people.

On my various trips I’ve been able to observe people in their natural habitat and the one thing I encounter almost everywhere I go is insecurity. A lot of people are insecure, and I mean A LOT of people. It doesn’t matter their background or whether they are rich, poor, tall, short, an executive or a cleaner, insecurity has managed to hook its claws into so many people and put doubt into their hearts and minds. It’s sad. It’s also very familiar because for so long, that was me. Occasionally, it still is me.

Growing up, I wasn’t really good at any one thing. I didn’t do great at school, wasn’t good at sports, wasn’t creative and found that friends came and went. I was never super cool or someone that drew a crowd. Am I amusing? Yes. Quirky? Yes. All-round awesome chic? Most definitely. (My modesty and humility is mind blowing, I know) but I was never that girl that stood out in a crowd. Throw in the absence of a Prince Charming (I’m convinced he is stuck in a tree somewhere trying to rescue some injured bird because he is just amazing like that), and it all made me feel somewhat lacking.

But then, Jesus.

It took me a while to really grasp God’s love for me. I still struggle with it, and I probably always will, but I’ll take it. I’ll take it because it is where my insecurity quietens down. In His love, I find my worth and identity. Where society tells me that I need to look a certain way, His love tells me that I am beautiful as I am. Where the world tells me that I need to act in a certain way, or achieve wealth and prestige, His love tells me that I need just be still because I have inherited all the riches of the earth through Jesus. Where the world, and occasionally the church, tells me that I am incomplete until I’m married and have my own family, He tells me that His love is more than enough for me. And it is. His love is more than enough.

Do I still get insecure? Yes. I think we all do, really, because some voices are louder than others and at times those voices, the ones that try to convince us that we need to fit the mold, are really loud and they make it hard to hear His gentle whisper. But all we need to do is sit still at His feet, and wait. He will turn up. He always does and when He does, His love will wash away everything else. We just need be still, lean in and listen to His sweet, quiet voice.

We all wear different, and at times multiple, hats; mother father, sibling, spouse, writer, publisher, editor, cashier, carer, receptionist, and so on and so on. The list is endless and each hat comes with it's own demands; each hat brings with it an insecurity of some sort that starts to niggle it's way into our thoughts. And that is okay, let it come, but let it go just as quickly. Let it go and hold onto the truth, and that is that you are His Masterpiece and you are enough. You are His beloved and He smiles down from Heaven at you.

So here is my prayer for you, for me, for all of us; I pray that we feel God’s love in a new and profound way, a way that changes us from the inside out. I pray that His love just overflows into our heart and spirit that we can’t help be be overwhelmed. And I pray that as we receive His perfect love, we can’t help but go forth and pour it out onto a world that is hurting and broken.

Leila Halawe is a Sydney based coffee loving nonfiction writer and blogger. She has published a short devotional, Love By Devotion, shares her life via her blog page Looking In. You can connect with her via Facebook at Leila Halawe Author and via Twitter at Leila Halawe