“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’” Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)

Do you ever catch your reflection in the mirror right after waking up and get embarrassed by how crazy your hair looks?

Whether or not anyone else is there, for a brief moment, it’s like nothing matters more than quickly taming your mane. After all, who wants to look so unpresentable?

Then suddenly there’s the sound of little feet running, and your kid comes in with even wilder hair than yours — “bed head” at its finest. And yet it’s the cutest thing ever. There’s no judgment, just love, for the sweet kid who looked a whole lot tamer the night before.

Why is it sometimes so hard to give ourselves that same grace when life starts to feel messy? When things become more than I can handle, if I’m not careful, I’ll find myself quickly trying to make it all look better, without any love or appreciation for myself in that present state. Does that ever happen to you?

In all situations, if we could only remember to see ourselves as God sees us, we’d embrace those messy moments. We’d hold Him to His words in Jeremiah 31:3, our key verse: “The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’”

Just like the Israelites, who failed over and over again, we are still loved by God in our less-presentable moments. In this passage, God had reprimanded His people and allowed them to go into exile, but He was also reminding them of His love for them and of their bright future ahead.

God draws us to Himself with kindness that doesn’t stop. And while He never wants us to remain spiritually disheveled, He’s right there with us while we pull it together. When He sees us in states of confusion and messiness, I know He feels our pain, but I also imagine He smiles with the knowledge that it won’t be like this for long.

We can be our full selves in front of God, unashamed of how we may look. We don’t have to fake anything or try to quickly fix ourselves up for appearance’s sake. Instead, we can lean into Him and experience true change, the kind that turns our mess into a message to others — the message that God is able.

And that is really one of the greatest offerings we can make. If we give up on trying to look “OK” and we instead invite God right into the living room of our craziness, He gets to renovate us from the inside out. By transforming what we thought was too bad to show the world, He gets the glory.

God, help me to trust that You can use my bad days as well as my good days to glorify Yourself through my life. Help me to stay vulnerable before You as I follow Your ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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If you’re looking for wisdom when you don't know what to do, you don’t have to wonder what God would say or think — because He has already given us the answers in His Word. We have access to a real God who has given us real solutions to our real-life struggles. Learn more with our next study, 1 & 2 Corinthians: Wisdom for the Questions You Have and Hope for the Discouragements You Feel, starting April 17 in the free First 5 mobile app. Click here to order your study guide!

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For more encouragement from today’s devotion writer, Jasmine Williams, connect with her on YouTube or Facebook.

FOR DEEPER STUDY

Philippians 1:6, “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (CSB)

Do you have any challenge right now that feels like too much to handle? What’s one way you can honor God today even amid this situation? Share your thoughts in the comments.

© 2023 by Jasmine Williams. All rights reserved.