Beggar to a Daughter

I love reading my notes in my Bible from a year ago. I see how much God has changed the way I perceive Him. I used to be a beggar, now I’m a daughter.

Rebecca Barlow (from the band BarlowGirl) tweeted that awhile ago and I came across it again today. It resonates with me because it’s similar to the things I’ve written and underlined in my Bible.

I’ve acknowledged my broken helpless state, but I sometimes forget that I’m also a redeemed daughter of the King. I might be a mess, but I’m a hopeful mess!

The notes I have scribbled in the margins of my Bible show me how much I’ve learned and grown in the past few year... I’ve learned a lot. And I’m still learning.

Two of the most significant things I’ve learned both revolve around identity. God’s identity and mine. First off, I’ve learned that while God is judging, He is also just and loving. His attributes all work together and make Him who He is. And second, I’ve learned that although I am poor and needy, I’m His daughter; and because of that, I have worth that can’t be taken away.

That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes fall back into how it was before. Somedays I need to be reminded that I belong to Him and that my actions should reflect that.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12;16-18 (the Message)

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!

So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.