Preoccupied....

Today I had the privilege of sharing a lesson at MOMS (mothers of many seasons). This is a lesson that God has been teaching me for months! I've been jotting notes down and reading scripture and praying and observing for weeks upon weeks. I've honestly wanted to write about the topic numerous times but I decided to wait until after I taught the lesson. I'm not really sure why I was ever chosen to share at MOMS but I am so grateful that I was. It is totally out of my comfort zone to speak in public and I don't feel super confident doing it so, I'm not grateful because I consider it fun or exciting. I'm grateful for the opportunity because it forces me to be in a place of complete dependence on my Father. When I begin studying, praying and writing, I have absolutely no idea what to say. But God always provides the words, thoughts and the examples. He overwhelms me with His provision. He astonishes me with His willingness to teach me first so that I can in turn teach others. It is such an amazing experience. 

As I heard myself sharing my lesson today, I was just amazed at what God had taught me. He gave me these words and filled my heart up with eagerness to share those words. My lesson was about finding our Identity in Christ, instead of what allowing our value to be based on what other people think about us. I won't share the whole lesson here but there is one point that I just have to share. It is something that God has laid heavily on my heart because lately, it seems that gossip and judgemental attitudes, and haughty opinions are everywhere. It could be very easy for each of us to get wrapped up in what other people are saying or thinking because that is all that people seem to be doing. I've been hurt deeply by the cruel opinions and judgements of others lately. As I've carried this heartache to the cross, my Jesus has met me with these words...

God is not preoccupied with how you look or how clean your house is. He isn't preoccupied with how other people describe you or how much they dislike you. God is preoccupied with YOU.

Did you read that? God is preoccupied with You. With me. The people in our lives are almost always preoccupied with the stuff in our lives...how we look, what we said, where we're going, what we did, what we didn't do, what they like about us, what they don't like about us, etc. God is NOT preoccupied with those things. He is simply preoccupied with You.

The definition of preoccupied is  "to dominate or engross the mind of someone to the exclusion of other thoughts." God is engrossed with thoughts about you, so much so, that thoughts about all that other stuff, are excluded. That is hard for us to understand because it is so foreign to us. People are so preoccupied with the "stuff" in our lives that they barely notice WHO we really are. They are also so preoccupied with themselves that they fail to see how much their words and judgements hurt us. With God, its 100% different.  He doesn't really care about any of the junk that people care about. He simply cares about His children. 

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to share at MOMS. God has taught me so much as I prepared. I've heard from Him in so many ways these past few months. It's just so amazing! I am also grateful for the truth that God is preoccupied with me. He is not like people. He doesn't measure me by what I've done or haven't done. He doesn't care how much I weigh or what I did 20 years ago that upset him. He has forgiven me, set me free, and longs for me see how much He values me. Oh, praise Him!! What a sweet gift it is to know that He values me!!! Take a minute to really ponder it....God is preoccupied with you!