The process of taking the Stronghold to STRONGHOLD workbook and creating it into a book has been quite the journey. As the book developed so did I.
Chapter Three was my favorite in the original workbook, and so I found it difficult to rewrite. I was alone in the cabin during this chapter, and that’s where He touched a place I didn’t know we were going to go. Surely there was someone much more worthy for the road ahead.
I silenced the phone and placed all other electronics on “do not disturb”. As I lay bare before the Lord I heard Him ask, “Who told you, Beth, you weren’t worthy?”
Like a rushing wave at high tide I was overwhelmed – this wasn’t about love, this was about approval.
We equate approval to love and disapproval to rejection. When we filter love this way approval equals acceptance, and acceptance means, “I love you because you are worth loving—you’ve earned it.” The painful opposite of this is that disapproval now equals rejection and rejection means, “I don’t love you, because you are not worth loving.”
Not worth loving… isn’t that our greatest fear? That there is something inside of us that cannot be loved and therefore we will end up alone. It’s the ultimate rejection to be unlovable. So we reject people before they have the opportunity to reject us, simply because we are afraid they will see we aren’t worth it. Or, we pretend to be someone we are not, always changing the way we look and act just to be accepted in order to feel worthy of love. Secretly, we fear they will find out what we already know, that we’re not worth the effort. ~Stronghold, Chapter Three
As I surrendered to the power of the cross, I embraced what made me worthy, and He began to bleed all over the pages that are now Chapter Three. I was washed and saturated in ways I had not expected. That night God and I had church high up in that mountain cabin. His love transforms our unworthiness. His love is far beyond any earthly comparison we can fathom. His love is who He is.
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38
Who told you, friend, that you were unworthy? It’s time to release that label and allow God to cover you with His worth.
This past Saturday, we released Stronghold, The Secrets Beyond the Wall. It’s been so much fun sharing this journey with you. Please come back and share your stories with me.
We made it,
