And the Soul Felt its Worth.

Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, till He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.

                ~from O Holy Night, penned by John Sullivan Dwight

I can’t stop thinking about these words.

I love Christmas carols… there is so much depth to them.  They aren’t just some words we sing in this particular season, they are words that were written to commemorate the depth of the season, the reality of what it means to have a Savior.

But these words in particular this year are resonating, deep into my core.  The world was fallen, then He came… and the soul felt its worth.

Sit with that thought a minute.

Until recently these were just words, sung but not dwelled upon, hidden in a season full of songs that are rich with meaning but sung from memory while thinking of other things.  At first it doesn't seem like a big deal.  Like, huh? That’s why he came?  But the longer I sit with it… the longer I can’t get it out of my head, the longer I realize… That is why he came.

It’s easier to think of in regards to someone else.  When I think of my friends, the people I love, that’s what I long for and pray for, for them – that she would just know and understand how amazing she is!  That she is so deeply loved for who she is, that she is so beautiful in her pursuit of God… I just want her to know that!

                                                                                                                                      

Because of Jesus, we are deeply valued and deeply loved, regardless of sin or circumstance or decision or life choices or situation.  And we are worth fighting for, to come out of the shell of a person we have become due to those things.  You, the real, deep, truest version of you – is what he came for.  And he wants to set you free.

I came to proclaim the good news and set people free. ~Jesus (Luke chapter 4)

And really… my heart wants it too.  I read this line… and the soul felt its worth… and I feel a tug in the center of my being; a longing, an ache, a whisper of could it be?  I want that… I want my soul to feel its worth.

I know I am just beginning to understand the depth of this.  I’m starting to taste what true freedom is, and how much worth my soul has.  How feelings of inadequacy, failure, feeling generally worthless… how those things have plagued me for too long, how untrue they actually are, how much my heart matters to God.  So does yours.

If we know who we are… if we know our worth, as sons and daughters of the King… we can do absolutely anything.  We can walk with our heads high and not be prisoners of insecurity and comparison and other insidious things that can take us right out of life to the full.  If we know our worth… we can move mountains.

And that is the miracle of the savior born in a barn.  We were once lost, then…

He appeared…. And the soul felt its worth.