Just Be
By Alisha Renee
God is not hard to please. He’s really not. When He breathed life into You, it’s because He wanted you here. He delights in You. Not because of what You do, but simply because You are His.
When my oldest daughter was a few months old, I remember sitting at our small dining table in our first home. I was exhausted. With a cup of coffee in hand, ungraciously adorned in my makeshift PJ’s due to most of my usual bedtime attire being thrown up on, I warmed my hands and my soul in a momentary window of peace. I watched Rachel. She was lying on her back under her colourful mobile, smiling excitedly and kicking with delight. I smiled. My heart came alive, not from the much-needed caffeine boost, but from simply watching her.
In that moment, my heavenly Father whispered to my heart, ‘Alisha, Rachel is not doing anything to earn your love. You delight in her simply because she is your daughter. She’s just doing what babies do. She’s just being. That’s how I feel about you. You don’t need to do anything to please me. I’m already pleased. I delight in you simply because you are my daughter.’
The perfectionist and self-confessed striver in me was moved by grace. It’s like the Lord breathed His restoring breath right into the place where I needed it most—my identity. All the things I felt I couldn’t do, ‘because I’m a tired mum,’ no longer mattered. My Father loved me, just as I was, without me ‘doing’ anything.
Beautiful One, you are worthy because you are a daughter of God, not because of your amazing service and abilities. You don’t have to save the world or move mountains. You don’t have to join all the church activities, attend every event, or help with every cause. Those are great things, but they aren’t what matter most. Whatever season you are in, enjoy simply being. Enjoy being you. Enjoy being His. Enjoy basking in His delight as He smiles over you. And take a moment to soak in the truth that your heavenly Father simply loves to be with you.
PRAYER: Father, thank you that I matter to you—not because of what I do, but simply because I am Yours. May everything I do flow from a deep inner knowing that I am already loved by You.
This story also features in Awaken by Alisha Renee.
Photo by Brittani Burns on Unsplash
