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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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The Confidence to Believe You Belong

It was my first day at a new school—midyear, where everyone knew each other and no one knew me.

Nine years old and naive, I had yet to understand the insecurity that clothed my spirit.

From my first timid step off the school bus that day, till the final bell rang after class, I wore a long red coat; total extra for the wink of winter a southern season contains.

Walking unfamiliar halls as the new girl wearing a bulky red coat, indoors and out, can set you apart in a way that doesn’t serve your social life well; I don’t recommend it. Yet, my antsy insecurity found comfort in my cocoon of a coat that day.

Despite the awkward start, eventually I’d lose my timidity in that new school, but never would I lose the insecurity that gripped my spirit. Long have I lacked an innate confidence to believe I belong.

As the years grew, I sensed God working in my life and trusted He had plans for me. Yet, I still struggled to confidently enter any space believing I was enough to belong.

This mistaken mindset, however, began to shed its grip on me when God met me in the center of my insecurity one day and traded new life for old lies.

That day, as I attempted to skim over a familiar Bible passage, the Lord prompted me to linger with the words rather than rush past them, and I read these truths afresh:

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!” (Psalm 139:16-17, NLT)

And, in the quiet of that moment, I felt a freedom I hadn’t known before, as the truth of God’s eternal heart for me covered my spirit with a comfort like no other.

In this passage David declared to God: You saw me before I was born, recognizing that before he’d ever spied a ray of light or cried a breath of life, his very person was intimately known by God.

This is our confidence: Before we had an earthly identity, God regarded us!

Before oxygen filled our lungs, the Lord laid out every moment of our lives according to His purpose. God hasn’t simply recorded the hours we’ve already spent, rather—from the second He sketched our identities, through the futures we’ve yet to reach, He has borne witness to it all.

Oh, friend, we can confidently believe we belong anywhere He places us, because the Ancient of Days, our eternal God, has made it His business to know and adore us, and to tenderly record His trustworthy plans for us.

May we reject the enemy’s lie that we’re not enough to belong, for our confidence is grounded in God’s authority as we walk together with Him into every space He’s already prepared for us.

No earthly brand of belonging can compare to the belonging we have in God.

Dear friend, the God who saw you ahead of your birth, whose precious thoughts about you are greater than numbers can contain, He recorded purpose for you long before your life existed in time!

Shed every lie of insecurity that drapes your spirit today and walk confidently in the truth that your story is already sealed in God’s book. You are a woman precious to your Maker and you belong where He places you, for you enter with the authority of His divine script.

What insecurities can you shed today, friend,
and confidently step into the spaces God’s set apart for you?
We’d love for you to join the conversation in comments today
at Proverbs 31 Ministries! ♥

 

5 Comments

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Comments

  1. Kevin J. Phillips says

    February 17, 2023 at 6:47 am

    Hi Brenda, what a wonderful article, well done.

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      February 17, 2023 at 1:06 pm

      Bless you, Kevin.

      Reply
  2. Becky says

    March 23, 2023 at 9:44 am

    I get so much from your wroting. God has given you such a gift. Thanks so much for sharing it!

    Reply
  3. Pam says

    April 17, 2023 at 5:38 am

    This devotion touched me today. My grandson is currently in middle school and is really struggling with insecurity and a longing to fit in and be accepted. I am going to share this verse and parts of this devotion with him this morning. Please keep him in your prayers. The preteen and teen years can be so challenging.

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      April 17, 2023 at 10:20 am

      Bless his heart; that’s so hard. Praying for your grandson, Pam. Thank you for stopping by and sharing today. 💗

      Reply

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Oh, friend, if you too have ever cried the prayer, Oh, friend, if you too have ever cried the prayer, “Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You,” …

I hope you’ll join me on the Proverbs 31 Ministries, Encouragement For Today Podcast today for this short 5 minute encouragement.
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You can find the Encouragement For Today Podcast  in your podcast app, or at: encouragement-for-today-podcast.transistor.fm/
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How can I pray for you today as you wait in worship for the Lord’s victory in you life? 💕🙏🏻
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I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can I wonder how these same palms I lift in praise can grip so tightly to a thousand concerns.
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Long have I held my concerns close, because sometimes letting go feels like giving up, and often I confuse the restless management of life with perseverance.
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I ponder the familiar words of trust and hope and confidence…trying to remove them from my Sunday School vernacular; willing them to to become foreign to my vocabulary so they might become alive again to my understanding.
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…Oh, friend, if you have ever heard the familiar phrase, “Let go and let God,” and wondered…okay, but how?
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Me too.
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In today’s Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion, I share how the Lord met me in this struggle, and showed me how to trade constant concern for quiet relief.
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You can read the full devotion over at Proverbs31.org.
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How I pray that today dawns anew for you in this area, my friend, as you release the cares of your life to the God of your life.
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What cares are you gripping today? Praying for you, friend. 💕
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How did yesterday get so far away? . 35 years this How did yesterday get so far away?
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35 years this man and I have mini-golfed our way through Labor Day.
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I’d rather have a picture of a flower than a picture of my face every day of the week. 🌸
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Time, I don’t know how you do it. How you turn 1988 into 2023 with just a wink.
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But I do know that the best traditions are always the ones that choose you.
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Oh, for 35 more. 💕
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If you decide to read, I’d love to hear your thoughts! May the Lord meet you in its pages, my friend. 💕
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