Let’s get something clear up front:
You don’t have to perform to be loved.

This blog is for those who feel unworthy.
To the outsiders.
To the ones who’ve been told they don’t belong.
To the ones who’ve been wounded by the Church.
To the LGBTQ+ community, and anyone who has ever felt too “other” to be welcomed by God.

Because the truth is this: He’s been reaching for you all along.

I Know What It’s Like

I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t fit in and being unsure where you stand with God.

Most of my childhood, I was in deep inner-torment and denial.
I knew I wasn’t like the other kids around me.
I didn’t like women like I was “supposed to.”
And felt like I was born in the wrong body.

The entire time I tried to prove myself to God and everyone else that I was “normal” and worthy of love.

I’ve been through the depths.
I’ve questioned everything.
I’ve wrestled with feelings of emptiness.
I’ve anquished in God’s seeming silence.

But God…

Didn’t shame me.
Didn’t exile me.
Didn’t ignore me.

He fathered me.

Worth Isn’t Earned, It’s Revealed

To cover up my own sense of worthlessness and inadequacy I built my sense of worth around performance, ministry, purity, gifts, calling and being helpful.

But Jesus lovingly stripped that away and showed me the truth:

Your worth isn’t based on what you do.
It’s not based on who you’re attracted to.
It’s not based on your performance, your pain, or your progress.

It’s based on this one truth:
You’re worth dying for.

The God of the universe died and rose again for you.

Jesus relentlessly loves you and your worth comes from Him.

And I want to tell you:
Jesus supernaturally healed me.

He physically healed me of self-harm.
He mentally and emotionally healed me from self-hatred.
He changed my desires and healed my masculinity.
He is the One who gives and reminds me of my worth.

So you need to know that…
You are not too far gone.
You are not invisible to God.
And you were not a mistake.

You are wanted.
You are pursued.
You are precious.

And you have immeasurable worth.

True Humility

It’s easy to mistake humility for self-hatred. But I heard God say:

“I don’t build upon self-hatred. I build upon love that’s received from the Father.”

Growing up in church, I thought humility meant treating yourself as less.
Letting people walk all over you.
Being a doormat.
Being a “real servant.”

But none of those are true humility in the eyes of God.

Real humility starts in awe of God.
It grows by receiving love from the Father without trying to earn it.
It matures into helping people.
And it is complete in self-sacrificial love.

You must understand your worth before you choose self-sacrifice.
If your sense of self is broken, so will your love for people be.

Humility isn’t groveling.
It’s acknowledging, “I can’t earn this.”
And when you finally stop trying to deserve God’s love, you start to encounter His power.

God doesn’t want robots or slaves.
He wants sons and daughters with hearts full of love, choosing to love people the way He’s loved them.

That’s the kind of humility God’s pleased with.

Healing Is Coming

God is raising up people who are imperfect to carry His presence into dark places.

Supernatural healing is here and is coming.
It will be holistic and awe-inspiring.

That includes the Church.
That includes the LGBTQ+ community.
That includes you.

If you’ve been running, tired, or trying to earn your worth, stop.

Come to Jesus.
Receive forgiveness for your sin.
Step into relationship with the Father.

Ask Him to show you who you really are.
Ask Him to silence shame.
Ask Him to heal what you can’t fix yourself.

He will.
And He’ll walk with you every step of the way.