1 Peter 2:4 - Precious Stones
Step 1: Pray. Select.
As I sat down to pray today, my heart was slightly heavy with the thought about how some people feel the need to hide their deficiencies. I guess we all do in some way or another. But that is so harmful to suffer in silence feeling less than, or concerned about acceptance because you might struggle in some area or another in life. And instead of getting help, talking opening, or confessing your struggle to a close friend or family member, you shrink down and hope no one will notice.
The Holy Spirit wanted me to focus on what the Lord says about who we are and how wonderful we are in our Father’s eyes.
I began to search for scriptures on the topic of what God says about us from his perspective, and I came across 1 Peter 2:4. This is where I started my journey, friends, so I moved on to STEP 2.
Step 2: Write. Read. Circle
After reading the scripture three times, the following words stood out amongst the others:
Coming to Him as to a living stone,
rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
Step 3: Re-Write
With a focus on the words I circled that stood out, here are the personalized sentence(s) that came alive in my heart.
Jennifer, coming to Him, chosen, and precious.
If you are doing this alongside me today, add your name in front of your unique sentence so the Lord can speak directly to you.
Step 4: Visualize
As I contemplate the sentence given to me by the Holy Spirit, I reflect on how important it is in our prayer time with the Lord that we understand we were chosen and are precious to God. This understanding assures us that we were made perfect in His image despite our imperfections.
When we sit down or take the time to go to a place to meet and spend time with our Father, there is no need to hide. We need to accept and love exactly who we are in the moment, even if we are struggling, and authentically be who we were uniquely created to be when spending time with our Father. If we can remember we are chosen by the Lord chose us personally, then it doesn’t matter what happened before we came to Him or what situation we are currently in and facing for the day; the important thing is God already saw everything and the moments you are encountering, which are new to you are thousands of years in the making for Him.
The Holy Spirit is reminding me of the importance of turning to Him to provide for us in our weaknesses and imperfections or when we have questions about our next steps and need to overcome the challenges we face. He wants to remind us that even though we are just discovering this mountain, the Lord is already on the other side, waiting for us in victory.
The Holy Spirit also tells me that even when we face a situation where we might feel that people will reject us, the LORD is on the throne and has a purpose for us to rise above our challenges and achieve our preordained destiny in life.
I have a question in my mind, so I proceed to Step 5.
Step 5: Ask. Seek
The requests/questions that came to mind are:
Holy Spirit, how do I fully realize that in my faults and imperfections, I am still chosen so I can, through you, shake the fear of rejection?
Step 6: Hear. Write. Receive
Here is the answer I received:
”Irons sharpen iron, so one person sharpens another. You all make up my body. You do not need to fear rejection because there is a place for you in Heaven. It was created for you long ago, and all the LORD wants is for you to choose him and follow Jesus, and he will show you the way. Do not try to be like your neighbor, but love your neighbor, and together you will be stronger. Take the time to teach each other. Take the time to commune together. Do not go through this life alone. If the enemy can convince you that you're the only one struggling, so you will hide, then you will succumb to an untimely spiritual death. Find a way to connect with others, which makes up a healthy body. Find commonality so you can share the uncommon to lift one another as Christ lifted you. This is the only way to tackle rejection: to get into a community and sharpen each other until you are all precious stones as designed by the creator, for the creator.”
Step 7: Pray. Confirm
Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus.
Thank you for shedding light on how to combat rejection and the feeling of imperfection. Let me reach out to my brothers and sisters and find commonalities amongst each other to grow close and sharpen our focus to achieve the purpose you have for all of us here on Earth.
Let me be reminded of the body of Christ. We are all vital to the prophecies of Jesus and his testimony, which will live on for generations to come.
In Jesus' mighty name, I pray and seal this prayer with the blood of Jesus - Amen.
Step 8: Share. Testify
If you used the 8-Step Prayer Practice today, we would love to hear how God works in your life! You can comment below or share your miracle or testimony HERE.
Conclusion:
Friends, if you're struggling with something, please reach out and join a community of other believers who can remind you of the truth about who God says you are.
You are an essential part of the body, so know that as you join others, iron will sharpen iron as the Lord intended.
Don’t let yourself try to fight through this life alone. We all have weaknesses. By showing up fully during your time with the Lord, hiding nothing, he will have the way to help strengthen you. Where we are weak, he is strong, and he already has a plan to help you.
Let’s go forward encouraged that we are all precious in the eyes of our Father, and chosen for a time such as this.
God bless you. See you soon!
