Jesus Calling.

My mom gave me an awesome little devotional book last Christmas, called "Jesus Calling". I really enjoyed reading it last year, and am continuing to read it, as I did miss some of the days last year. Today's was really good, and I thought I'd share it on here, as it is something that I personally struggle with.

"Let Me bless you with My grace and peace. Open your heart and mind to receive all that I have for you. Do not be ashamed of your emptiness. Instead, view it as the optimal condition for being filled with My Peace....It is easy to touch up your outward appearance, to look as if you have it all together. Your attempts to look good can fool most people. But I see straight through you into the depths of your being. There is no place for pretense in your relationship with Me. Rejoice in the relief of being fully understood. Talk with Me about your struggles and feelings of inadequacy. Little by little, I will transform your weakness into strengths. Remember that your relationship with Me is saturated in grace. Therefore, nothing that you do or don't do can separate you from My Presence."

One of my biggest personal struggles is caring too much about what others think of me. I have always struggled with this, and it has been brought to my attention in the past few months about how I really need God's strength and help to get through this. This reading today really blessed me as it reminded me about how God sees right past all my attempts and sees straight into my heart...and loves me for who I am. I often tend to try and "hide" my true self from others...even God. But the fact that he sees through all my crap and loves me for me is just amazing. I love that He wants to stay by my side and work on me, loving me all the while.