You are a person, not a performance or platform.

You’re a name, not a number.

No matter what happens (or doesn’t), you are His. God isn’t too concerned about how much money you make each month or whether you landed your dream job. I doubt He’s paying much attention to your Twitter follower count or how many people liked your last Instagram post.

I’ve been convicted lately, reminded that the only place I can truly find my worth and place my identity is in the One who gave me a name — His. Because it’s in that name that I receive my worth and identity.

The naming came first, which therefore eliminates the striving.

If He measures the waters in the hollow of His hand (Isaiah 40:12), why do I run around thinking the weight of the world rests on my shoulders?

I can slow down and be still. I can release what was never mine to carry.

The I Am says that I am already fully known and fully loved, chosen and free, redeemed and named.

Sometimes, though, I forget.

Sometimes I look to numbers to find my worth, as if reaching X number of followers or receiving X number of likes on a post could make Him love me more, increase my worth in His eyes.

It’s so backwards, all this striving to receive something that has already been given and secured, something that can’t be taken away.

He made a way; He offered His name and called me His own.

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” – God (Isaiah 43:1)

It’s the Creator who gets to declare the worth of His creation (not Instagram or Twitter or monthly income or the scale or a job title or Facebook or book reviews).

Numbers are black and white but names are attached to a people, to a beating heart.

We are His, children of the great I Am.

We can stop striving; we’re already secure.

We can stop rushing, franticly filling up to-do lists and checking things off; He’s already paid the price.

We can start resting, trusting that the world is in His hands (not on our shoulders) and our identity, who we are, is found in Whose we are.

He has called you by name, not by your social media handle.

He has called you:

chosen

dearly loved

forgiven

beautiful

redeemed

friend

wonderfully made

daughter

You are not a number; you have been named.

++++

Over the past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about names. (Monthly(ish) newsletter subscribers… remember those in-process thoughts about nicknames?)

What we call things matters and there’s often more to a name than we realize.

Just over a year ago I returned from Israel and immediately started reading through Deuteronomy with one request voiced: Jesus, show me more of Yourself.

It turns out that’s one prayer He’ll definitely answer. (Also: Deuteronomy became absolutely fascinating.)

There’s always more we can learn about who He is. When you combine that prayer with my recent can’t-stop-thinking-about-names situation, let’s just say I was stoked when I saw the “theme” for the June DaySpring and Illustrated Faith kit… . (The images in this post were created using this kit.)

As always, the kit includes everything you could possibly need to get started Bible journaling. One of the best things, though, is the devotional. This one was written by Melisa Garcia and I love her heart behind it: “I learned early on that if I wanted to know who I am, I first must know the great I Am. You will know who you are when you recognize whose you are.”

Here’s a sneak of one of the devotional entries, in case you’d like to see:

I’m not kidding or saying this because I should. It’s just the truth: DaySpring and Illustrated Faith knocked it out of the park with the design for the kit. I opened it up on Instagram stories and could only hope I would like it since my face gives basically everything away. (And by basically, I mean everything.)

(Good thing this is my favorite kit yet.)

For months I’ve watched women create stunning Bible journaling artwork using DaySpring kits and paint, but I’ve been too intimidated to attempt painting in my Bible. I finally gave it a shot last week (all you need is , acrylic paint, and this clear mat so nothing bleeds through) and honestly, it’s so much easier than I thought! Painting isn’t my gifting (obviously…) but I really enjoyed spending time thinking about the underlined verses while working on the page.

One last thing: Since many of you stumbled onto this little corner of the Internet through Five Minute Friday Snail Mail (way back when I created that whole shindig), I’d be remiss not to mention the fun and whimsical new line of Shanna Noel cards at DaySpring. I received these three cute ones to share with friends, but next time I place a DaySpring order (which is once a month, who are we kidding?) it’s a safe bet this “more coffee” card will find it’s way into my shopping cart.

 

The gorgeous image of the I Am kit was taken by Lindsey Lanning. Affiliate links have been used in this post.