The Journey - Acceptance of Your Belovedness

The Truth

We can’t work ourselves into being loved and accepted. The truth is – we already are.

Last blog post, we saw the contrast between The Cycle of Works and The Cycle of Grace. You can read more here.

The Cycle of Works is exhausting. We work and work to gain our significance and to know that we are loved and accepted. It’s a vicious cycle that gets us nowhere and leaves us burned out.

The Cycle of Grace is life-giving. We begin with the truth… God says we are already loved and accepted. From this place of acceptance, we will naturally be fruitful and make a difference in the world.

The Cycle of Grace is backwards from what the world tells us. So, it can be hard to believe we are loved and accepted. Then how do we ground ourselves in our belovedness and acceptance from God? What are our lives like when we know this deep in our souls?

Today’s post includes practices that can help us know we are accepted and loved.

Jesus Shows Us How

Jesus lived from a place of God’s acceptance that led to an amazing ability to love others (fruitfulness).

Jesus’ ministry started with assurance that He was God’s beloved Son. At His baptism,

… a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22

Throughout His time on earth, He regularly pulled away from His followers to be alone with His Father, to focus on His identity as God’s beloved Son. His regular time alone with God models for us a rhythm of receiving God’s acceptance.

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

Receiving the Truth of Our Acceptance

God shows us His love and acceptance in many ways. It’s good to notice and savor even small moments of acceptance – a hug, a stranger’s smile, your pet!

When we receive God’s acceptance of us, we are enabled to accept others. We are freer to welcome those who are suffering or struggling, and include others who feel left out. When we receive our own belovedness, we are free to love others.

The truth is He accepts all of me, and all of you. Whether we are grieving, angry, disappointed, anxious, or discouraged, He accepts all aspects of us. He tells us we don’t need to clean ourselves up first. Our efforts do not gain us acceptance. We are welcome as we are.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-29

Ways to Practice Our Acceptance

Grasping God’s acceptance of us does not come naturally. We need to remember and rehearse God’s love and acceptance. Spiritual practices can help. Here are some suggestions for ways to sit with and receive the truth of our acceptance.

Pick one or two to experiment with. If you find one that helps, do it again. Make it a regular practice. Just as with anything new, we need to practice to make it a habit.

Consider who, or what, has helped you feel accepted. This may be a person, pet, book, or place that helped you feel accepted and understood. Spend a few minutes in silence imagining them with you. Then write down a few words about what you observe and feel.
Simply sit with God and a word that He says about you. Here are some options - “Beloved,” “Accepted,” or “Treasured.”
Breath Prayers are a simple and powerful way to express truth to ourselves in God’s presence. They are a few syllables that you say aloud (or silently) as you breath in and then out. Here is a Breath Prayer that Brennan Manning practiced every day to remind himself who he was (1) -
Breath in - “Abba,”
Breath out - “I belong to you.”
Listen to the song “Abba” by Jonathan David Helser. You might close your eyes and simply let the words wash over you.
Here are some additional passages of scripture to meditate on. I’ve included Breath Prayers you can pray. Or write your own Breath Prayer.

Isaiah 43:1
But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Prayer

Lord, You have called me.

I belong to You.

Ephesians 3:16-19
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Prayer

Lord, your love for me is deep.

Help me to know Your love.

Ephesians 1:4-6
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Prayer

You chose me, Lord.

I am your daughter/son.

John 1:12
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Prayer

Lord, I believe in You.

I am Your child.

Remembering Who We Are

I hope these practices help you remember who you are. It is so good of God to give us simple things, like scripture, prayer, songs, even a smile or a pet, to help us remember… we are accepted, beloved, belonging to Him. Our life with God will flourish as we learn to live in this place of His acceptance.

Next Time

Next month, we will talk about the next step in The Cycle of Grace, Sustenance, and other practices that can help us learn and refresh our grasp of being accepted and loved by God.