Book Club

In Chapter 2 "Foundations of the World: Fear of Rejection, Abandonment, and Betrayal" Angie reminds us of the story of Job, and how Job's wife wanted him to turn his back on God after he'd lost nearly everything, but Job proclaims his love for the Lord and acknowledges that he should praise his Father for the good days as well as the bad. For most of us, it is easy to praise and thank God for the days that everything is going our way. Days that flow the way we want them to; days where everything seems to just fall into place. But what about those days when everything seems to fall apart. Do you find it hard to "thank" God on days when you can't seem to keep your head above the water? I often do, and I think most people do too. At one point, Angie acknowledges a desire for everything to go perfectly regardless of the circumstances--an overachievers dream {confession: this is me}, and when things don't go the way we'd planned or hoped, when we feel rejected and unwanted we doubt God's intentions, His plans, and more times than not, His love for us. Women tend to avoid scenarios where they could feel disappointment again, especially when it involves love.

It is so hard to love people in full expectation of them loving you back. 

The story of Leah is one of rejection over and over again. She was the unwanted, less attractive sister whose father forced her to marry Jacob as a way to get her off his hands. Jacob didn't want Leah; he wanted her sister Rachel. Knowing this, Leah tried to win him over and make him love her by giving birth to six sons and a daughter-- he still despised her. She, like so many women, wanted him to love her for all the wrong reasons. Leah re-focused her life on the Lord {instead of Jacob}.

She {decided} to stop trying to please man and pursue what she desired in favor of praising God. There is a power in relying on the Lord's view of us over the opinion of everyone else.

In the midst of fear, rejection, abandonment, and betrayal, Jesus has the power to turn our hardships, our missteps and our faulty plans into something beautiful. He created each and every one of us for a purpose, and He makes promises throughout scripture to love us, care for us, and provide for us {1 Peter 5:7, Ephesians 3:16-21, John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5, Psalms 136:26, and many more}. Why do we doubt His plans for us, if His love prevails and He has gotten us this far? We desperately need to practice recognizing over and over again that He laid the earth's foundations without our help{Job38:4}, and that He is the Beginning and the End.

Honestly, my favorite part of the chapter came at the end--part of this beautiful prayer. 

I was worth You dreaming me up. May I live a life worthy of the King who spoke me into being, eyes fixed on Him, heart steadfast in love, and always aware of His presence in the times I feel forgotten and discarded. -j.