When the World Doesn't Fill Me

by Hannah Clements

Y'all, “words of affirmation” is my love language. Like for real, give me all the accolades. I will eat them up with a spoon. My 29th birthday just rolled around, and my one wish from my husband was “tell me twenty-nine things you love about me” (eyes batting, waiting with anticipation) and immediately my love tank is full. 

Right now, if I am being honest, I haven't felt very affirmed lately. My love tank is running on “E”. 

I secretly want to be the best, but a co-worker of mine seems to get more accolades than me. In the middle of a positive yet major life transition, my husband is stressed. Therefore, there is very little time for “sweet nothings” to be whispered in my ear.  My volleyball team lost every game of the season. Every. Single. Game. I will note that although my athletic ability is low, my desire to win is high. #humbling 

God isn't surprised by this season, the one where affirmations are few. I don't feel like I am winning, being successful or, at times, even noticed. Perhaps, He has waited anxiously for this season because He knew that when the world doesn't fill me I will come running to His word for affirmation.  

Here are some truths straight from the Creator of the Universe given to affirm me and to affirm you. 

I am delighted in. - Zephaniah 3:17

I am redeemed. - Psalm 49:15

I am heard. - Psalm 116:1&2

I am known. - Psalm 139:2

I am seen. - Psalm 139:3

I am never alone. - Psalm 139:7

I am wonderfully made. - Psalm 139:14

I am free. - Romans 6:22 

I am gifted. - 1 Corinthians 12:7

I am Christ’s Ambassador. - 2 Corinthians 5:20

I am God’s masterpiece. - Ephesians 2:10 

I am chosen and God’s special possession. - 1 Peter 2:9 

Friends, we can claim these truths over ourselves simply because of His goodness. Not because of anything that we have done but because of what has been done and given to us.  We can stand confidently in the seasons full of accolades and the seasons that go unseen.  

Oh Lord, 

Thank you that my identity can be found in you. You see me and know me, and you still delight in me. Thank you for your word and for the truths and encouragement you provide. You are good!

Amen.

Hey, Friend. God Sent You a Valentine.

I call in sweet whispers, 1 Kings 19:12
Return to Me, beloved. Joel 2:12
No one will love you like I do. John 13:34-35

I loved you first. I John 4:19
Before your own mother. Psalm 139:13
Before I even created the world,
I created you out of pure delight. Ephesians 1:4-5

I love you.
Through your faithfulness and obedience. John 14:23
In your steadfast hope. Psalm 147:11
These precious gifts you give to Me. 1 Peter 1:7

I love you still.
Though you labor and spin. Luke 12:27
My voice saying, Return to Me, beautiful one. Song of Solomon 2:10
I will never leave you or betray you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Are you listening, my dearest? Jeremiah 33:3

I'll love you through it. Isaiah 43:2
Through betrayal, loss. Psalm 3:3
When you lay to rest treasures both good and bad. Matthew 6:19-21
Though all may be taken from you. Isaiah 58:11-12
My love will never be. Romans 8:38

I love you in truth. Ephesians 6:14
In grace. Psalm 103:8
In mercy. Psalm 86:5
In gifts I freely give, beloved. Romans 8:32

My heart is for you. John 13:1
Rend your heart for Me. Joel 2:13
The day I shaped the earth out of a dark void
I made everlasting marriage vows to you: Ephesians 1:4

I will love you forever. Psalm 136
I will never be unfaithful. 2 Timothy 2:13
I will never leave you alone. Psalm 100:5

Those who seek Me lack no good thing. Psalm 34:10
Good things like faith, hope, and love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
The promises I make to you are bound in who I AM. Exodus 3:14
Who else can say this to you? Psalm 89:34

I am your first. Revelation 2:3
Your best. Isaiah 41:10
Your last. Matthew 28:20
There are times I will be your only. Psalm 62:5
But I am all that is necessary. Luke 10:42
Sweet darling, I am all you need. 2 Peter 1:3

I am perfect love
because of my perfect love for you. 1 John 4:18
I am perfect love
because I am love. 1 John 4:8

I've sent you a love letter.
Written by the Spirit. 2 Timothy 3:16
And proven by the ages. Acts 5:38-39
Seek Me and you will find Me in these words. Jeremiah 29:13
Read this letter daily, write it on your heart. Hebrews 8:10
And know that you are loved so much
That I would give anything for you. John 3:16

Love,
God 

Love, Not Law

Twice in one day I heard the word 'litigious.' Who hears this word even once in their day, let alone twice? And, for the sake of transparency - I mean, let's be real here. The first time I heard the word was in an episode of Friends where Rachel declares she is "not litigious" to a possible employer. And the second was on Top 40 radio with a DJ describing a woman who had engaged in some sort of nonsense and was about to sue someone. So, in short, do not be mistaken. I was not reading the Wall Street Journal, watching the news on PBS, or engaging in any high minded media. Nope, just Friends and trashy radio.

Where were we? Oh, yes. Litigious. Am I litigious? Are you litigious? Who knows? I have no idea what this word even means. But I am a curious cat, so I had to look it up.

Ahem. Litigious. "Excessively ready to go to law."

In my physical life I am not litigious. I've never sued anyone. Never had anyone arrested. In fact, several years ago Dusty and I were rear ended on I-95 on our way to Orlando. It was a barely there bump, so we told those who'd hit us not to worry about it. Some may consider this naive, but I tell this story to prove the point - I am not litigious.

But am I spiritually litigious?

Galatians 3:3 says this: "Are you that stupid? Did you begin in a spiritual way only to end up doing things in a human way (the Law)?"

In this text Paul is speaking to the church at Galatia. Jews during this time followed the Law, the commandments given to Moses in Exodus. These are not just the ten we memorized in Sunday School as children. The Law held over 600 rules ranging from those we've memorized to foods you were allowed to eat to property management to relationships. Jews worked very hard to obtain righteousness in the sight of God by following these rules to the letter.

But Jesus came and spoke freedom:

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart 

and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 

This is the first and greatest commandment. 

And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' 

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40

(emphasis mine)

Dear one, Jesus says love is enough. If we love Him with everything we have and love each other in the same way everything in the Law will fall into place. There is no need to complete a checklist of good deeds to win our salvation. Jesus came and through His love and our love for Him all the Law is covered.

Paul says "we are no longer under the supervision of law" or a bajillion rules. Just two rules now: Love God. Love people. 

But what about those Ten Commandments? I'm supposed to follow those, right? 

If you love God and love people you will. 

Let's test this theory.

No other Gods before Him - Love God.

No idols - Love God.

No misusing His Name - Love God.

Remember the Sabbath - Love God.

Honor your parents - Love people.

No murder - Love people.

No adultery - Love people.

No stealing - Love people.

No lying - Love people.

No jealousy - Love people.

Legalism is not for you, friend. You are a child of Love, not a child of law. 

I want to be like Rachel Green and declare "I am not litigious!" I want to be unshackled by lists of rules and claim only one: love. Just love.

All the Law is covered by Love.

Father, create in us a heart that loves You and loves Your people. Let our hearts rest in love, not law.

A Love Letter to God

If I wrote a love letter to God
I wouldn't know where to start
But my pen would not stop moving
I would use the biggest words I know

Do I start at the beginning
on the day that I was born?
Or do I start before the beginning
when I was knitted together
in my mother's womb?

I could go further back still
for even before I existed as body

I existed as His thought

From the foundations of the earth
the notion of me
twinkled in His eye

He whispered my name as He made
space and sky
Serengeti and seagull

The more I write my love letter to God I see
It's becoming His love letter to me

My pen cannot compare to His hand
My mind to His might
Nor my creation to His Creation

God!  Do you hear me say:
I see it!
Your love, your life-giving
and light-giving

In feathers and flight
Ice and island
Brain and bone

All creation a correspondence

So what can be my love letter to you?
I cannot match you!

Ah...my love letter to God is simple
It's found in not matching Your creation,
but in seeing it:

The sunrise, the Son, the sacrifice

I see your love letter
This letter is clear:
the 'x', the 't'
3 nails, a holy tree

So my love letter is to simply read yours
With eyes, brain, ears, and lips

But to go further still
and read it with my soul

And write it on my heart.

The One Who Loves You More

To be perfectly honest, I'm a take-it or leave-it kind of gal when it comes to Valentine's Day.  Now I certainly love celebrating love, but I am not a big fan of hype.  And Valentine's Day never quite lives up to what is anticipated as things with much hype tend to do.  (I'm serious.  Think about this past New Year's Eve.  Expectation:  glitter, champagne, fancy clothes.  Reality:  Cheetos, Ryan Seacrest, and your footie pajamas.  Bed by 9:30.)

While I may not put much stock in Valentine's Day, I do put much value in being loved.  Don't you feel it in your chest, in that space above your heart? The desire to be loved?  Not just respected or admired (although these things are of the utmost importance, too), but to be loved?

I'm not just talking about romantic love.  Love comes in many forms - from parents, friends, girlfriends, boyfriends, children, and spouses.  When you feel someone love you with pure, unapologetic abandon - this is a beautiful thing that answers a need in your soul.

There's a reason love makes us feel so good.  Genesis 2:18 tells us that God made Eve for Adam because it "wasn't good for man to be alone."  Jesus commanded us in John 15:12 that we are to "love one another" as He loved us. And, my goodness, let's not forget I John 4:8:  "God is love."  Simple - you feel love, you feel God Himself.

The love humankind has for each other is God come down to dwell with us, in us.  My dear grandmother, who will be 97 this month, lives the most authentic relationship with Jesus I have ever seen or may ever see in my life.  A few years ago she dreamed she was in heaven.  While there in her dream she said, "I felt love flowing through my veins."

Love, my friends, is the language of heaven.

And God speaks this language to us now every time our heart thumps with emotion at those He has sweetly placed in our lives.  This is something to be treasured.  But if we think this serves as our fill of love we are sorely mistaken and missing another, more valuable treasure.

My mother tells a story of the day my second son was born.  She still had not arrived at the hospital when I was being wheeled into the OR for a c-section. She recalls crying in the car and whispering to God, "But she's my baby.  I should be there.  I'm her mother."

Jesus tenderly whispered back, "But I'm her Savior.  I love her more."

I think of my husband.  He woke up three times with our crying two-year-old last night.  Why?  Because he wanted me to be able to sleep.  That's love.

But there is One who loves more.

Can you picture your mother?  She packed your lunches and probably still calls you every day.  She prayed over you with tears during your most trying times. That's love.

But there is One who loves more.

How about your dad?  My father-in-law once drove an hour and fifteen minutes to help my sister-in-law hang a shower curtain rod in her new apartment. That's love.

But there is One who loves more.

Think about your dearest friends.  My friend Jennifer will ask me if I need help for an upcoming event before I can even think to ask.  That's love.

But there is One who loves more.

And what about our precious children?  Whether they share our last name or are only ours during school hours or Sunday school time.  A hug from a peanut butter and jelly covered five-year-old?  That's love.

But there is One who loves more.

These precious people God has placed in our lives are just the ultimate, aren't they?  Joy-inducing, heart-bursting, honest-to-goodness gifts.

But none of them left a heavenly throne, suffered at the hands of evil, and overcame death for you.

See, Jesus loves you more.

Revelation 19:11 tells us the story of "the Rider on the white horse."  He is dressed in white and leads the armies of heaven.  He comes to earth to vanquish evil and wipe away the tears of His people.  He is called King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Maybe you've been fortunate enough to receive the love of spouses, mothers, fathers, friends, and children.  Praise God for those blessings!

But maybe you've been hurt by lack of love.  Suffered the loss of a mother or a child.  Never knew your father.  Were betrayed by your best friend.

Friend, if that latter category is familiar, boy do I have good news.

You see, that Rider on the white horse?  Our precious Jesus?  Revelation also gives Him another name:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, 

whose rider is called Faithful and True.     

(emphasis mine)

And there He is, the One who loves you most.  And He is not confined to things we humans are:  to death, abandonment, loneliness, loss, betrayal.  Nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38).  Nothing.  Because His love is limitless and carries no trace of human weakness.  His law?  It's pure love (2 John 1:6).  

In His perfection He has committed Himself to you.  He has named Himself for you - "Faithful and True to (insert-your-name-here)".  

And your name?  My friend, it's engraved on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16).  

So let's celebrate the people whom God has placed in our lives.  Let's love them and appreciate them.  But in a place of honor, held high in our hearts, let's celebrate Jesus. 

Because He loves you more.

Oh, Faithful and True:

Let us remember that Your love is Perfect.  Let us remember that You will never leave us nor forsake us.  Why?  Because it is against Your very nature.  It is impossible for You to let go of what You have claimed.  Let us return Your love in the best ways we can:  by recognizing it and showing obedience to Your Law.  The Law that just happens to be love, too.

Lord, may it be so.

The Worth of His Work

Sometimes I play a precious annoying game with my husband called "List the Reasons You Love Me." This game can also be called "I'm Feeling Needy and Fishing for Compliments." I highly enjoy it and am considering selling the rights to Hasbro.

Here are the rules:  Husband hugs me and tells me he loves me.  I say, "Tell me why."  Husband then lists at least three things he loves about me (This is a game minimum.).

Honestly, just typing this is embarrassing, but it's all true.  I actually do this. And my husband sweetly obliges. And I listen, hanging onto every word.

This man and I have been together for almost 15 years.  We've experienced the highs and lows of life and everything in-between:  overwhelming joy, sadness, loss, want, plenty.  Children, houses, jobs.  We have run the gamut together.  He is the epitome of loyalty and faithfulness and has never given me a moment's pause of his love for me.

So why do I need reminding?

Is it the feminine in me?  Demons from my childhood surfacing?  My ego?

Or maybe it's just because we all sometimes question our worth.

I think we as humanity, be us female or male or those facing demons from the past or those wanting an ego boost wrestle with this:

What is my worth?

I need to share a wonderful story with you; an astounding revelation God gave me a few years ago.  It was a normal day.  I was driving somewhere alone (which is a rarity). The sun was shining.  I turned right onto the main road near my house and the precious sound of Jesus came flooding into my head:

"Tell me how I feel about you."

A message was sent into my heart and I was overwhelmed with joy and brightness and love. Laughter was there, too.  It was like witnessing a father lifting a precious, smiling child into the air.  The father laughing along, eyes shining.

"Tell me how I feel about you."

"You delight in me."

"Yes!"

Sweet friends, do you need a reminder of your worth today?  Then here it is! The Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, the Ancient of Days, The Great I Am says this to you:

I delight in you.

The LORD your God among you is powerful— he will save and he will take joyful delight in you. In his love he will quiet you; he will celebrate with singing because of you. 

~ Zephaniah 3:17

The love that God has for you is pure and perfect.  It is never-ending. He doesn't see you as a burden.  He sees you as His perfect, most important work of art.  Ephesians 2:10 says we are His masterpiece.  You are His workmanship and The Artist's work is worth much!  You think an original Rembrandt is worth a fortune?  My friend, you are an original of God Himself!  

Romans 8:38-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from His love... ever. Not even "any created thing." Created things like our sin or our mistaken self-perceptions:

38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This, dear ones, is some powerful stuff.  This kind of love is found only in the divine, only in the perfect.  And luckily for us, God is both.

So now tell me:  How does He feel about you?

Yes!  He delights in you.

Do not question your precious value, friend.  You still doubt this value?  Do you think this message applies to others and not to you?

Then this message is especially for you.  

So the next time you begin to question your worth because of a spouse, a boss, a child, or a friend, remind yourself of this:

The Lord of all creation takes delight in me.  And this delight takes shape as laughter and song, warm breezes and sunshine.  It looks like children running on a seashore.  It feels like lying under a great shady oak with streams of warm sunlight dancing through the leaves.  It smells like a Christmas tree.  It sounds like one lone bird you hear singing as you stand in your kitchen washing dishes.  It tastes like the first thirty seconds of Double Bubble gum.  

Every warm and wonderful feeling you've ever felt is how God feels about you.

Now go and live, knowing your worth.

Dear Lord,

You have told us to shout!  Exhorted us to sing and rejoice!  You have turned back enemies like self-pity and self-doubt.  You have told us not to let our heads hang in sadness and defeat.  God let us walk proudly with each step because you have taken such great delight in us.  We are your work, God, and your work is worth much.

Lord may it be so.

Amen.