Week 1 - An Undivided Heart: Who Am I?

What is the root of worry? Isn’t it usually deep down, about security, safety, control? How about - identity? 

Scripture Meditation: Matthew 6:28-30 What is the root of worry? Isn’t it usually deep down, about security, safety, control?

How about - identity? The Bible makes it clear that the person I call “me” is someone whose identity is already secure, rooted, and defined. Someone that God is deeply in love with and yet... I wonder how well I really know that “me.”

This week’s meditation invites you to look deeper for your sense of self. “An Undivided Heart” Scripture Meditation Series answers the question: “How do I find peace?” by taking you on a journey to find an undivided heart.

Psalm 34:9
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.

 Today, I ask, God, show me your ways, teach me your paths.  I pause now to remind myself that I am in God’s presence as I reflect on Matthew 6:28-30

Matthew 6:28-30
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” 

Pause for reflection.

Meditation:

Usually, when I read this passage, I think about it in the context of anxiety and worry. But what is at the root of worry, really? Isn’t it usually about security, safety, control, and identity?

When I look deep into this passage, it starts to challenge me deeply. Who am I really? I feel so well-trained to look for my identity externally. Everything seems to want to convince me that I’m defined by who I’m friends with, who I love, what choices I’ve made, my hair, my clothes, my status, my race, my affinities, and affiliations.

The habit to look around at others for identity and validation is so deeply embedded, even when I look strong and self-defined.

But it’s not enough. 

 Who am I really? - not who I’ve been told I should be, not who I think I should be, and not who I imagine myself to be. 

In Isaiah, God says: “I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, say to you, ‘You are my people.” (Isa. 51:16). 

God delighted to create the beautiful plumage of the peacock, the long amusing trunk of the elephant, the strange mystery of the cicada; the perfume of the rose, the healing power of echinacea and chamomile, and the glorious coffee bean! And yet, what ultimately defines all these - and me - are not their unique properties, but what they hold in common - they are God’s creation. They fulfill their purpose in individual ways, but they share the same purpose - to speak of God’s glory; to sing praise, to be light, to fill the world with testimony to the joy of God’s love. And in so doing, they are fully who and what they were created to be.

As I listen to the passage again, I consider that the Bible makes it clear that the person I call “me” is someone whose identity is already secure, rooted, and defined. Someone that God is deeply in love with, and yet I wonder how well I know that me.

Produced by Laura Lyon Narration and Script by Lisa Smith Original Score by Dan ABH Filmed by Laura Lyon on location in Tampa, FL
References:
Matthew 6:28-20 NIV - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...
“Seeking God’s Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year.” https://www.amazon.com/Seeking-Gods-F...
“Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much,” Anne Wilson Schaef https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Wo...
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