Enjoy who you are

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob! (Numbers 24:5)

Fair tents? Prospering like lush gardens? As strong as tall cedars? Nourished as by flowing waters? A laughable description at best! It’s easy to read Balaam’s prophecy as comforting words of hope and miss out on the somewhat humorous disconnect in this passage. At the time when Balaam uttered these words, the Israelites were not much more than a ragged band of nomads and ex-slaves wandering in the desert.

What Balaam saw was the Israelites as they would become, not as they were. And that’s why this is such a hope-filled passage. This is the way God always sees things, the way he always looks at us. He doesn’t see sins. He sees the blood of his Son washing us clean. He doesn’t see weaknesses and failures. He sees us clothed in the strength and dignity of Christ. As he looks down from heaven, he sees his children spotlessly pure and filled with his Spirit. And that includes you!

God always sees us in light of his perfect plan and intentions for our lives. So often, our sight is fixed on the ragged edges of who we are or what we’ve done. But we don’t have to mire ourselves in problems, sins, and difficulties. We will always be far more than the sum of all our troubles. Why? Because we will always be treasured children of an all-loving God. This is the central truth that can set us free from anxiety and empower us to enjoy the gifts and talents God has given us—and to look forward with eager anticipation toward everything that he still wants to lavish on us. 

So what can you do today to respond to this amazing passage? Simply enjoy who you are. You are a child of God. You are precious in his sight, chosen and beloved from before time began. You are a member of God’s own family, and you have great dignity and honor. Nothing can rob you of your place in God’s house; nothing can convince him to disown you or to abandon you. So marvel today in who you are—and in who you are destined to become!

“Father, how great is your plan for my life! It is so much bigger and better than I can possibly imagine. I stand in awe and praise you for your power and incomparable love.”

from wau.org