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Renee Swope

Encouraging and equipping moms to parent with God's grace and confidence.

{week 2} To Be Known Is to Be Loved

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From Chapter 2, A Confident Heart

“Jesus knew Sam’s (the Samaritan woman’s) story and He knows yours. The Greek word for “know” is yada. It means a deep emotional experience; a bonding between two people when one truly feels the emotions of the other. Jesus knows your pain, fears, doubts, and disappointments. He understands your dreams and desires.

Although some of us feel uncomfortable that God knows so much about us, it is good to be known, to be listened to and not judged. Jesus is the only One who can meet our deepest needs to be accepted and delighted in simply because of who we are. We can offer nothing but our presence, and He will desire us just the same…

There are many religions but did you know that Christianity is the only faith that offers a relationship with the living God? We don’t just know about our God; our God wants us to know Him. And we were created for that kind of relationship.

Jesus created us to have lasting soul-security in knowing we are valued and pursued by the One who knows and loves us—the One who created our inmost being and wove us together in our mother’s womb (Ps. 139:13). Have you let the gospel of God’s grace move from your head to your heart, so that you know without a doubt you are known intimately and loved completely by God?” (p. 40 printed copy)

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Our word this week is  “Known”

Our verse of the week is Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” (NIV)

This week’s video message is below. Please click the arrow to watch it  – all the way through. You’ll be so glad you did.

(from video script)

I WANT TO BE KNOWN
I want someone to look at my face
And not just see two eyes, a nose,
a mouth and two ears
But to see all that I am, and could be
all my hopes, loves and fears…

And YOU know me
You actually know me
all of me and everything about me
Every thought inside and hair on top of my head
Every hurt stored up, every hope, every dread
My past and my future, all I am and could be
You tell me everything,
You tell me about ME
And that which is spoken by another would bring hate and condemnation
Coming from Youu brings love, grace, mercy, hope and salvation
I’ve heard of One to come
who could save a wretch like me
And here in my presence, You say
I AM HE…

(read full script here)

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Today’s Assignment:

  • Read this week’s memory verse (Jeremiah 1:5). Ask God to remind you all week that He knows the way you long to be known, pursued and loved!
  • Start or continue reading chapter 2. Remember, take your time and highlight or underline sentences that resonate in your heart.

Connect in Community:

What about today’s video or sentences in Chapter 2 resonate most with you?

  • Please click “Share Your Thoughts” below this post and do just that.  (Remember to go to my website to do this)
  • Optional: I’d love for you to share one of them on our Confident Heart Community Page and/or share them with me on Twitter (@reneesswope). I’d love to retweet them! Also let’s use #AConfidentHeart so we can encourage one another and find them easily.

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I’ll announce last week’s winners in my Weds. post.

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Comments

  1. It is sovery comforting to me to know that Jesus knows us so intimately. I think of all the things and feelings that we hide because we don’t have confidence or we don’t trust others with our vulnerabilities. But to know that at the end of the day, God sees it all, raw and unclothed and we have nothing to fear. What a gracious God we have.

  2. “And YOU know me
    You actually know me
    all of me and everything about me
    Every thought inside and hair on top of my head
    Every hurt stored up, every hope, every dread
    My past and my future, all I am and could be
    You tell me everything,
    You tell me about ME”

    Wow. The words above are what resonate the most with me from the video. As someone who is private with “built-up walls,” I find comfort in knowing that God already knows me. The real me…no pretending. I don’t have to say anything and he knows…he gets me even when I feel as though no one else does. You know how when a squirrel darts out in front of your car and dodges from side to side in the road, not knowing which way to go? (or maybe only southerners will know what I’m talking about?) Well, that’s how I feel about my future sometimes….unsure of which “future-making” decision to make because I want to make the right one before getting run over! Bad example? Well, God already has it planned out. He’s got everything under control….”He’s got this” and I’m OK with that!

    As far as chapter 2, well, feels like the whole chapter was written just for me. “The weight of the water-filled jar in the heat must have been almost unbearable, but the weight of her neighbors’ words, reminding her of her failures and imperfections, was more than she could take.” I know how it feels to “take the long way around” to try to avoid the judgement of others. Also, “We can offer nothing but our presence, and He will desire us just the same.” I serve an AMAZING God! I don’t deserve His love, but He gives it anyway. God thinks I’m good enough for Him?! God desires me, a simple sinner?! How’d I get so lucky to be worthy enough for the King of Kings?! I’m always comparing myself to others: I’m not good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, I’ve already made too many mistakes in life, or someone else can do it better so I find comfort in these words and will find myself repeating them often: “…because God’s love is perfect, you don’t have to be!”

    • Jessica! Your post captures my feelings exactly!
      “…unsure of which “future-making” decision to make because I want to make the right one before getting run over! Bad example? Well, God already has it planned out. He’s got everything under control….”He’s got this” and I’m OK with that!”
      I too struggle with making decisions, always afraid of making another mistake, or of getting ahead of God…
      Yet, He orders my steps! I must abandon my quest for perfection…to look perfect, to behave perfectly, to be perfect at work, the perfect daughter, etc. it’s not gobba happen. And, it’s okay, because I have a perfect God covering me.
      Whew! Amen!!!

  3. For to be known is to be loved and
    To be loved is to be known

    And you know me
    You actually know me
    all of me and everything about me
    Every thought inside and hair on top of my head
    Every hurt stored up, every hope, every dread

    My past and my future, all I am and could be
    You tell me everything,
    you tell me about
    me.
    I am so happy that Christ looked beyond my fault and saw my need. i have done nothing good to deserve His love,but He love me with an everlasting Love.

  4. I love the word “Yada”! I read “The Yada Yada Prayer Group” years ago & it was & still is one of my very favorites! In fact I have an email that start letsyada & my women of faith group is “let’s yada gurls”! I love that it means to know or be known. My thoughts were let’s talk gurls & get to know God. So cool! I am realizing everyday that I still have a long way to go in “knowing” who God really is. You cannot even believe how appropriate this is for me right now!Thank you!

  5. Wow! What an impact in my heart! God is so speaking to me through this study!!! To be knonw! To someone with childhood hurts that God has been healing and opening doors for sharing his healing…we do want to be known and yet loved!

    Jeremiah 1:5 !”before you were born I set you apart” God has been asking for more, and I say “yes Lord, yes!”

    Thanks so very much for this study, God is speaking to me through it.

  6. The video is powerful. I can’t believe that I can relate to the Samaritan woman at the well. After reading chapter 2 this is what really stood out for me. That Jesus is waiting for me at the well ready to offer his perfect love to me while I’m in the midst of my imperfect life that is filled self doubt and insecurities. Hallelujah what a savior. Renee thank you for your book and this study.

  7. I love how God loves me, in spite of me. I believe in our walk with God, that we will notice that sometimes we are our own worst enemy. But to know that God loves us just for who we are. No front, no pretending, no acting, just being upfront and honest and sincere with the things we struggle with and things we don’t like about ourselves. No love compares.

    I see how everyone from the youngest to oldest just want to be loved… we just want to be wanted. We want to be known, but still loved. It’s hard to let others see and know all the baggage that we carry (ourselves). We don’t want people to get too close to those touchy things or feelings of insecurity. The only one I’ve found that I’m more comfortable with at being myself is Jesus. The things I used to get made fun of in highschool for my appearance (things I can’t change about myself) would leave me walking around the halls with my head to the ground. Afraid if I lifted up my head somebody would see that imperfection that only God knows how uncomfortable and embarrassing it is to me. But when I’m with God, I can truly be myself. I can lift my head up to Him and praise Him for loving me for me. Not based on my apperance, but just for who I am. He loves me. No love have I found that’s any greater. Only God can I open up to and let him see and heal those feelings of hurt and embarassment. I sit and cry as I’m typing this right now, because God is through this study right now revealing to me something about myself. Something about my heart, that he needs to repair is those seeds of embarassment and hurt that others have planted in my heart. He needs to heal this place in my heart, so I can be set free of feeling that way anymore. He came so I could live life, and live it more abundantly. Please pray that God would heal those (deep, hurtful parts) in my heart, and replace those seeds with seeds of love. Love is what heals our hearts. I know God will take care of me.

  8. Wow…it was amazing and a great reminder that He wants to know us at a level that is far deeper than I have ever wanted to go with anyone except my husband!

  9. It was not my dad, but my mom who left me with the baggage of ‘if I don’t behave well enough she’ll leave’. Unfortunately she would leave, for a time when her anger got the better of her. But because I was under two years old, I interpreted it as my bad behavior drove her off and it was only when my older brother, older sister, and I started behaving well again, that she came back. What she did was exactly what she needed to do to stop the cycle of abuse with which she grew up, but in my less than 2 year old mind, I interpreted it much differently. It is something that I have fought for years, ever since God helped me to realize it.

    Reading your words about your dad leaving you and describing what I have felt all these years was like a breath of fresh air for me. I am learning much from your insights and perspective. Even though I am 53 years old, have been a Christian for 43 of those years, hold a Master’s of Divinity degree and am an ordained minister, you are still teaching me much that I need to know and I thank God for allowing me to be a part of this study at this time.

  10. She had some very interesting things in her poem. I basically got that another individual can’t judge another person by their appearance, color, decreed, race, or gender. However, all this done by God not man also, another individual shouldn’t be to quick to judge some one else cause he or she could be judging God’s chosen one.

    Be Blessed

    Tricia

  11. I will post my thoughts about chapter 2 later, but what a powerful promise that HE knows me! My husband is in the military and will be deploying again later this year.. and it is encouraging to know that before I even approach His throne.. He already knows my circumstances and is leading the way step by step.

  12. This video was amazing as are all the comments. I too, struggle with my emotions, sometimes quite overwhelmed. Today, I am encouraged and reminded that we are not alone even when we feel like we are. That we are known and loved. You are a beautiful group of ladies, and you all have touched me. Thanks be to God and thank you!

  13. Loved the video. Good message. I have struggled with this part of my life. What stood out to me from the chapter was that Jesus is right there waiting in the midst of our imperfect lives, when our pain and failures confirm our self-doubt. Jesus knows our story. I want to be known and be loved. I’m loved by the savior. Right now I am dealing with a broken heart over a situation at the church I attend. But I know that God is right there waiting. He is my healer. Just keep me in prayer through this study.

  14. You whisper and tell me to my face
    what all those glances have been about and
    You take the time to really look at me
    But don’t need to get to know me

    For to be known is to be loved and
    To be loved is to be known

    And you know me
    You actually know me
    all of me and everything about me
    Every thought inside and hair on top of my head
    Every hurt stored up, every hope, every dread

    My past and my future, all I am and could be
    You tell me everything,
    you tell me about ME

    God knows me – He knows me better than I know myself. It’s been a very difficult week, but by God’s grace, I have been who He wants me to be. I give Him the glory and praise. It has been tough, but with prayer and confidence in God, I made it through. Praise the Lord!

    • Isn’t that so amazing and terrifying at the same time- “He knows me better than I know myself.” I often think I am hiding things from Him, when He actually wants to reveal things to me about myself!

  15. This really resonates with me also. 18 years ago I had severe post pardum depression. I was listening to Satans lies. Like you are no good, you are worthless, no one loves you, you are a terrible person etc. During that time, I started writing music. God showed me that he knew my WHOLE life story and everything that has happened to me and he loved me. He heals the broken hearted and binds up all their wounds. Psalm 147:3

    Here is one of the songs I wrote called “He Knows”

    https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/cfs-ak-ash4/v/232143/974/2172384425606_36754.mp4?oh=bbd45e26c518884bf48cfd51e1b46aea&oe=4F9F5120&__gda__=1335841056_f3071a12aea50a1bb43ba3b912b177fd

  16. The whole video spoke to me, but specifically:

    To ask for a drink is no big request but to ask it of me
    A woman unclean, ashamed, Used and abused
    An outcast a failure a disappointment, a sinner.

    I feel like I am Sam, I am her. I feel like why would Jesus see anything special in me, when there are so many other people he could call upon. But what I often need to remind myself is that Jesus and God often call upon people who themselves do not feel special, but they have a special purpose for them.

    • Amanda…we are so hard on ourselves and yet God wants us “as is”. I love what Renee wrote in chapter 2: “Jesus in the only One who can meet our deepest needs to be accepted and delighted in simply because of who we are. We can offer nothing but our presence, and He will desire us just the same.”

      Just be available sweet Amanda and He will use you in ways that you realize just how special you are to Him.

  17. I have read the chapter and so much resonated with me. Especially the way you viewed God as you were growing up. I could totally relate with this since this was the way I looked at my dad. I always thought that God was just like my earthly father and he was not a loving person. How wrong I was in this feeling. Now I realize that God is my father and he loves me so much. Just wanted to let you know I am taking a week off from Face book and videos so I will not be able to watch the videos since it will be like watching television. My 12 year old is doing TV free week and we cannot watch videos or be on Face book at all this week. I finally discovered one thing that I will try with this experience. Set my timer for only 30 minutes a day for facebook and that is it. I am finding myself on it alot.

  18. I just sobbed listening to this … God has healed so many wounds and yet here I sit realizing the gift of being able to really see and still scared of being seen and known.

    This was His perfect timing – I am known. I can be safe being known. Praise God!

  20. I never want to go further in this (or any) bible study. It is going to pull at my heart strings, it is going to dig into the very depths of my soul. that is a place that I don’t even go. Yet here again, with this video, the words touched that deep dark place, and I saw, just how much hurt and pain I try to conceal.

    These are the words that jumped out at me:
    *******************************************************************

    But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for,
    or pray for
    So I don’t, not anymore

    Now I keep to myself
    And by that I mean the pain that keeps me in my own private jail
    The pain that’s brought me here at midday to
    this well

    To ask for a drink is no big request but to ask it of me
    A woman unclean, ashamed, Used and abused
    An outcast a failure a disappointment, a sinner.

    No drink passing from these hands to your lips could ever be refreshing
    Only condemning,
    **************************************************************************************

    I know that feeling. I am that feeling. I don’t ever feel like I will be set free from those feelings. I hide it well on the outside. No one knows the pain that lives inside.

    Do I think that this bible study will help me knock this loose from my soul? I don’t know. All I can do is pray. (Mustard Seed)

    • Lord Jesus, I pray for my sister in Christ today. May she continue to see the light of Your Word revealed in her life. We ask that you set her free in Your Name. Give her eyes that see the confidence You have in her as Your Daughter. Amen.

      Blessings to you. Thank you for sharing.

    • I”m praying for you too Sarah. I know you are afraid and I understand. It is scary. But Jesus wants to set you free from these feelings and love on you. Can you let Him do that – just love on you. Can you sit and let Him speak assurance and love over your hurting heart. I”m praying for you right now. We are here – you are not alone. We will walk with you through this one chapter at a time. You are worth the courage it will take. He has so much more HE wants to give you!!