To Him, You Belong

For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]—[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

─ Ephesians 1:5-6 AMPC

Rhonda topped the stairs with a basket full of folded laundry and stopped for a moment when she heard a song coming from her kindergartener’s bedroom … “little ones to Him belong … they are precious in His sight ….”

She smiled first at the way her daughter had combined two of her own favorite songs she sang as a child in Sunday school. Then she felt gratitude to God because she had grown up knowing to whom she belonged, and her daughter would too.

The need to know that you belong rests deep within each one of us. We look for it, we desire it and, in most cases, do all we can to feel connected, set in place rightly with others. For some, the want for it goes so deep, it becomes the fabric of their lives. They identify with whom they belong, or they feel a loss because they seem to never quite fit into that perfect mold made for them. They have never experienced or maybe never accepted God’s unconditional love. They are still trying to find Him, the one who knows them best and accepts them just as they are.

Our verse today confirms you belong to Him. He destined for you to be revealed as His own child through Jesus Christ. He wants to fill you with His favor and mercy simply because you are the one He loves – precious and priceless in His sight. You have always belonged to Him. You already have His seal of approval.

If you are desperate to belong, look to your Father, God. Ask Him to show you what He sees in you. Once you see yourself as He sees you, you will recognize you have always been counted as a part of His family. Accept the fact that you’re accepted.

Today’s One Thing

This week, remind yourself you belong to God with these three verses:

• Jeremiah 31:3: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself” (NLT).
• John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (NLT).
• Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (NIV).

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