Consider these words of affirmation from Jesus, who invites us to find our source of satisfaction in Him: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Nobody in our lives, not even our partner, parents, or spouse, could say something like this to us—it would sound like nonsense. Only Jesus can speak these words of affirmation o us in a way that makes sense and has an impact on our lives. Our deepest longings and hunger for love and companionship are found in a relationship with Jesus. God promises that we will never go hungry or thirsty if we come to Him. He invites us to come to Him because He loves us with an everlasting love.
Here’s the reality: You ARE seen, you are NOT invisible. God wants you to know that He sees you at your best and your worst and He chooses to love you regardless. So often, feeling loved is about being seen. For words of affirmation people, we try desperately to make ourselves seen so that we can get the reward of being told we are seen and liked. We dread feeling invisible and work hard to receive the words of affirmation that help us feel confident that we are seen and loved. This is what is so incredible, for better and worse, about social media. We can make ourselves seen in a way that was never possible before. We make ourselves seen by posting pictures of our lives, snapshots that tell the world we are here. However, have you ever posted something only to have almost nobody “like” your post? What’s even worse, perhaps, is that the only “like” you get on a post comes from your mom or grandmother. At the root of our strong desire to be seen is the yearning to feel loved.
Again, God sees you. In fact, God has been watching you and watching out for you since the very beginning. There is a poem in the Bible where the writer experiences God’s love through realizing how intimately God has been involved in his life during a very dark and difficult time. Here’s a portion of that poem—consider it for yourself:
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar…
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast…
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
Now, you may be living a happy life, maybe even a life of love. You may be living a life where you are yearning for more. You may be in difficult times like the poet who expressed these words to God. Whatever your story, each of us was made for a deeper love, a love that can only be experienced in a “friendship that has caught fire,” where we are known, we are seen, and we are accepted with all our imperfections and weaknesses. This kind of love can only be experienced in a relationship with God.
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Excerpted from Seen. Known. Loved.: 5 Truths About God and Your Love Language by Gary Chapman & R. York Moore ( 2020). Published by Moody Publishers. Used with permission.