Is It Me You're Looking For?

I was just lying on the floor going through my normal Rhema "routine", listening out for The Lord and you'll never guess what I heard. Lionel Richie! Yep..."Hello! Is it me you're looking for? Cause I wonder where you are and I wonder what you do. Are you somewhere feeling lonely or is someone loving you? Tell me how to win your heart for I haven't got a clue but let me start by saying I love you." Of course it was the whole verse, right? And I'm asking myself what in the world this has to do with what God is saying. But then I don't know why I ask that question either because God does not stay in a box with me. So I just waited. And then He began to remind me of all the conversations I have had lately with people that have lost themselves. Multiple people in many different stages in life were talking to me about feeling lost, defeated, unfulfilled and confused and when we got to the heart of it, they had forgotten about them.

Today, God wants to re-introduce you to you! I know Lionel Richie was talking about someone else but that lyric could be your heart's cry. God wants whole people. He wants you to be able to minister to others and not just out of your pain but out of your healing. Some of you have been sending out distress signals, hoping that someone would pay attention and answer the call. Well, God is answering and He wants you to remember who you are. Remember that "you are fearfully and wonderfully made!" Remember that you are His masterpiece. Remember that He loved you first so now you have to love and honor yourself.

It's almost too easy to put yourself last. You are a friend, a daughter or son, a wife or husband, mother or father...so many roles, so many responsibilities. You want to do your very best and not disappoint those that depend on you. But what about God? Does He get your best when you have given it all to everyone else? Does He get your deepest worship when you can't even get through the day without focusing on this issue or that? Does He get your all when you are so busy being broken that you don't have time to fix it? It's too easy to get lost in all of that. You are God's best creation but do you recognize it? Let me tell you a story about me.

I have always been a confident person. I was raised to know that I could do anything that I set out to do. I am a multitasker almost to a fault. When I got married and had children, I continued with my same schedule plus the added things that came along with the new life. Slowly, my decisions began to be made solely on what others wanted and needed. The time I used to take for myself was replaced by what others needed me to do. I didn't get my hair done like I used to. I didn't read like I used to because someone else needed that time. This isn't bad in all respects but you get my point. One day last year, I looked at myself in a picture and didn't recognize myself. I was at my heaviest weight, in unflattering clothes and I looked tired and unhappy. The saddest thing is that I was on vacation in the picture. I had lost track of Ebony somewhere along the way. In that moment, God told me that He needed me to be whole and it started with me. I realized that taking time for me did not hurt my family. Saying no to some things or people did not ruin their lives. God had some things for me to do that I couldn't do where I was. So...I got back to me! I reclaimed my relationship with me and I didn't feel bad about it. Once I did, I could see other things more clearly because I wasn't distracted by what I was missing. It is a continual process but it is worth it.

I don't know what your struggle is. I don't know where you got off track but I do know that God desires to use you and He wants you to be in a place of wholeness. Ephesians 2:10 really blessed me this morning when God was giving this to me. It says, "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (‭NLT) Recognize who you are in Christ and how awesome you are in His sight! You are His masterpiece! Be sure to honor that in you and take time to get to know you again. I promise you will not be disappointed in who you meet!