The next entry for my Blog is Perfectly Loved, which was written by Andrew Ripp, Ethan Hulse, and Rachel Lampa. It was first released April 8, 2022. A link to Rachel Lamp and TobyMac singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.
Who said that you weren’t beautiful
And that you didn’t belong in your own skin?
Who said that you were all alone
And that you’re never gonna find love again?
So many little words, so many little lies
That have followed you all of your life
Looking for the truth, look into your eyes
And you’ll see it’s been there the whole time
Ooh, even when you were running
Even when you were hiding
Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved
When you barely believed it
When your eyes couldn’t see it
Every single moment, you’ve always been perfectly loved
Ooh, perfectly loved
You’ve always been perfectly
In the hands of the Infinite
As the wounds of the world became His
See the kindness Heaven has for you
And how He’s always been drawing you in
So many open doors (so many open doors), so many miracles (so many)
That have followed you all of your life
Looking for the truth (looking for the truth), look into your eyes (oh)
And you’ll see its been there the whole time
Ooh, even when you were running
Even when you were hiding
Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved
When you barely believed it
When your eyes couldn’t see it
Every single moment you’ve always been perfectly loved
Ooh, perfectly loved
Ooh
You’re not a problem
You’re not a mistake
Don’t need fixing or solving
In the arms of His grace
You’re perfectly human
Made from the dust
You’ve got a heart, broken and scarred, yet perfectly loved
Oh, even when you were running
Even when you were hiding
Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved
When you barely believed it (when you barely believed it)
When your eyes couldn’t see it
Every single moment you’ve always been perfectly loved
Perfectly loved
You’ve always been perfectly loved
Ooh
Perfectly loved
You have always been perfectly loved
Have you ever been told that were not pretty, or beautiful, or handsome? Perhaps you were told that you were too skinny or too big or perhaps that you had an unusually shaped body. Maybe you were told you didn’t have the right looks. As young people, we may have been made fun of by groups of other people. It seems as if their mission in life was to ridicule others and just make them feel unworthy. In some instances, people are denied jobs because they don’t have that right look, however right look is defined. The really sad part in all of this is that many people are actually scarred for life because of the ridicule they faced in their younger days. As these scarred people enter adulthood, they firmly believe that no one will ever love them and that they will live a life alone. It is so easy for some people to feel they are not good enough whenever they experience these types of situations. It also seems there are some people who have the right look, the right build, the right personality, and seemingly glide through life never understanding those who didn’t fit the perfect model that the world expects. We may be the one in the background saying please pick me. I know I have painted sort of a grim picture, but I firmly believe there are people who fit this mold and many of us have felt this way at some point in our lives. What is most important and perhaps more challenging in some ways is that we need to focus on what God wants us to look like. In 1 Peter 3:3-4, we are told what God expects, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” Many people may say that this scripture is directed to women, but I believe it really speaks to men and women, especially the second sentence. I also believe that the first sentence can apply to both sexes, especially in today’s world. The bible also tells us that we were created in the image of God. We find this in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This scripture is talking about our inner self and our spirit, not the external body. God loves us because of who we truly are on the inside. Our closest friends know us and love us based on who we are and do not take the worldly view of our physical appearance. It is our inner spirit that communicates with God, our external look means nothing in his eyes.
We can try to run and hide from the world and all it represents, but we can never hide or get away from God. He has always loved us even when we were trying to run and hide from him and the world. Since he is always with us and loves us unconditionally with a never-ending love, it is impossible to hide from him. So even in your deepest darkest moments, he is there to bring you peace and love. All we have to do is open our heart and let our inner spirit rejoice in his love. No matter what we do our how much we change, God’s love for us never waivers, it is an eternal love that no one can take away and is also something we can never escape. In the eyes of God, we are never a problem, we are his perfect creation and his love is unconditional.
Some of the people who read this may be thinking that God has never been there for them. They believe that God is merely a name or a spirit that cannot be touched or seen, so how do we know he is there and that he truly does love us. Take a few minutes to think about some of the challenges that you have faced in life. As some of those challenges ended, did you ever think about how these challenges were overcome? Was there someone new who came into your life? Did you get that job you thought you would never find? Did you suddenly find out that you could have that child when you thought it would never happen? These types of questions tend to be non-stop, but take some time to focus on answers that have come along the way. Do you believe that some of these issues in your life just magically went away? It is God who is in the middle of this and he is the one answering your requests and the only one who has never failed you. He brought that right person or people into your life, he helped you get that right job, he helped you when your heart was lonely, he helped you get food when you were hungry. God alone can meet your needs and he is the only one who will love you unconditionally for your entire life. He has known us since before we were born and he has great plans for each of us. We are told this is Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Just as God had a plan for Jeremiah the prophet, he has a plan for each of us.
God also tells us in Psalm 139:13-14 that he knew us before we were born, “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.” I believe that if you take the time and focus on the 2 scriptures above and reflect back on your life, you will find that you were never really alone; you were just unaware of God’s hand reaching out to you. You have never been truly alone and never will be, all you have to do is open your hearts and feel God’s love and presence. He alone will never leave us or forsake us. God is never-ending and perfect love.
You indeed are perfectly loved.