My family, like many others, apply nicknames to those we love the most. I call my daughter, “Babygirl,” and our son is “El Chico (“the boy”).” Our grandson is “Lovebug,” and because our granddaughter can’t seem to sit still, my wife, Laura, has recently dubbed her “Cricket.”
Laura has called me “Robbie,” almost from the moment we started going out, and she’s always been my “Little Princess.”
Regarding my sister, Annette, our Grandpa Weddle used to call her, “Annie Roonie Loony Tunes,” and I won’t even tell you what he called me! Guess it’s a family thing.
The other night I was lying in bed, suffering terrible, chronic pain, depressed and angry about it, and just generally feeling sorry for myself, when a thought hit me, nearly bringing tears to my eyes:
“Does God call me ‘Robbie’?” What’s HIS nickname for me?
I mean, God’s love is boundless and matchless, so the thought of Him sitting on His throne in Heaven, fully oblivious to me, uncaring, cold and cruel, is ludicrous. Read the first two chapters of Job and you’ll see how the Lord brags up His children, sometimes to the point of the devil getting downright TICKED OFF and attacking us.
That’s ok, we’re more than conquerors through Jesus (Romans 8:37). There’s NOTHING the enemy can throw at us that we can’t, with God’s help, overcome.
“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then My faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,’ says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” Isaiah 54:10
I attempted suicide once when I was in my early 20s (thirty years ago), and took enough pills to, at the very least, put me into a coma, and more than likely, enough to kill me. I went to the emergency room a few hours later and they pumped my stomach. You know what they found?
NOTHING. The doctor asked me why I had lied about attempting suicide, and I never did convince him I wasn’t lying. The poison I intended to end my life just disappeared. God didn’t have to do that, but He did.
Watch a loving father with his child sometime. Pay attention to how he encourages the child, and laughs at all the silly things they do, even the things nobody else thinks are funny.
The child falls; does the father scold them? Of course not! He picks them up, holds them until the tears stop flowing, and then encourages his little one to try again.
Yeah, God’s crazy about you. Never doubt it.
One of the things I always looked forward to when my kids were little, and then when my grandkids came along, was taking naps with them. There was something so peaceful about feeling their little bodies come to full rest, and then falling asleep with them.
It’s my opinion that worry and regret are two of the most wasted and useless emotions of the human experience. After all, “can all your worries add a single moment to your life (Matthew 6:27)?” Of course not. Same with regret.
So when worry tries to attack you, I would encourage you to press in to Christ, asking Him to take away your worries, fears and regrets. Ask God for the peace of mind to fall asleep in His arms.
“But You, the Lord God, are kind and merciful. You don’t easily get angry, and Your love can always be trusted.” Psalm 86:15
“The Lord your God is with you. He is the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you.” Zephaniah 3:17a
“This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his one and only Son into the world so that we could have life through Him. This is what real love is: It is not our love for God; it is God’s love for us. He sent His Son to die in our place to take away our sins.” I John 4:9-10
I know it’s hard for us to believe in God’s love sometimes. We look in the mirror, or in our past, and say, “How ON EARTH can God love a piece of trash like me?”
Let me reassure you, God’s love is beyond our comprehension, and while the enemy of our soul tries to cloud our minds to this love, it cannot be hidden!
You are loved, and you are cherished. YOU ARE AWESOME!
So what’s God’s nickname for you?
Think about it.
Blessings.
Broken People 