The wounds and scars your body and heart now bare are not those of an abandoned boy or little girl but of those of an adopted and well-loved child.

If you can’t recognize or misinterpret God’s chastisement, it’s because you don’t believe in your sonship.

It’s because you don’t quite know the heart of God. Well, maybe not enough just yet…

… You see, I just want to inspire you to ponder a little, just below the surface of your heart and mind. Just to get a glimpse at another possibility or maybe a deeper reason behind those pesky feelings.

Don’t focus on how you’ve been wounded and scarred, but seek out the teacher who permitted it. If you seek Him, you will find Him and discover hidden treasures that God put there.

Sometimes what’s motivating our feelings is a sense of unworthiness. True, none of us are worthy of God’s grace and goodness, but emotional unworthiness can cause you to doubt God and miss his good intentions for your life.

As soon as your heart learns the significance of your wounds and scars, light will come bursting in, and your strength and passion will be renewed like never before.

Or, you can reject all this and be stuck in a “Groundhog Day” life, whereby you repeat the cycle of God’s chastisement until you surrender to his love.

Kind of look at it this way; you’re being tested, not tempted. God knows your heart, and the tests occur so that you’ll know where your heart is. The hardship is to draw your attention to what’s going on inside your heart. If you’re stuck on doubt and abandonedment, you’ll fail God’s test. He’s cheering you on to succeed and not to fail.

Look, God wants you to pass his tests with flying colors. He’s always nearby to show you the way to his finish line.

I know, sometimes it doesn’t feel like God is there. Sometimes, it feels like no one is there, not even a close friend, your wife, husband, mom, or dad. You may think no one understands or cares. I know, all too well, how you can feel lonely, even in a crowded room.

Do you want the honest truth? All of that stuff; loneliness, doubt, and abandonedment, are feelings and are nothing more than an orphan mentality. God doesn’t orphan those he loves. Nope, not at all. It’s not God making you feel that way. It’s the Father of Lies, not your Heavenly Father.

God treats every son and daughter with the same passion. He wants you holy so that you can be whole. He’ll cut away anything that stands in the way of your wholeness. He wants you to be just like him, holy; separated from all that stuff that separates you from Him. Sometimes, it feels like abandonedment — even in your loneliness, though, God is at work.

Don’t relapse into your old ways. Don’t pretend to have it all together — pride is not the answer. Abandon, your false attempts to cover up — God sees right through your charades.

Did you really think you could get away with sin?

Did you honestly think God would allow sin, despair, and the devil to be your downfall?

Well, I don’tthink so. God bankrupted heaven in giving up His Son, Jesus, just to show you how much he loves you. Don’t think for a second that he didn’t love his Son. Jesus died to make you into a real child of his Father. That’s why he resurrected his Son from the grave! He got His Son back, and He wants you back, too!

Well, would you look at that—Father and Son – working together to make you a permanent member of His family!

Only an illegitimate son or daughter can escape correction, but a true child of God must be refined. And his refinement, well, it comes from a good place, from his heart.

So your hardship is not a string of bad luck. No, they’re a rope to pull you closer to the heart of your Heavenly Papa.

Seek to know the heart of God, and you’ll never get lost in difficult days. You’ll never again forget that you belong to him.

So, say good riddance to loneliness, doubt, and abandonedment because you’re a child of the Most High God, and He happens to be in love with you!

He is a fierce lover and a faithful Father. Hallelujah and amen!