He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.     (Zephaniah 3:17) ESV

I have been an achiever my whole life; at least I think I have been. I feel like I have accomplished a lot in my life. From early in life, I rarely got into trouble, I played a little baseball & softball and I was pretty good. I got good grades when I tried to. I went to college and had the opportunity to sing in some groups and met some interesting people. I felt the call to the ministry and have been in ministry for almost 40 years. During that time, I married, had kids and now grandkids. I have done everything I thought I should do. Life has gone pretty fast but now, with my adult children launched with lives of their own, I have started to ask myself, “What’s next? What should I do? What’s my purpose for the rest of my life, other than to love my wife completely and love my kids & grandkids for the rest of my life?”
Then I came across this quote by Brennan Manning in his book Abba’s Child. “Define yourself as one who is radically loved by God. This is the true self. Every other identity is illusion.” That was just the reminder I needed to hear — I am radically loved. In fact, Jesus loved me so much He died for me!
I can’t really undo my past, but I can move forward with confidence because I am loved, not because of what I do, but because of whose I am! I don’t have to strive to impress anyone because Jesus rejoices over me with gladness, quiets me with His love, and exults over me with loud singing. When I find myself struggling with my identity, I just look at today’s Scripture verse, and my spirit is quieted and content because of His love for me.

Faith Step:    Write down 3 ways your life would be different if you lived your life truly believing that Jesus radically loves you.