Every week as a counselor at summer camp I would look forward to Camp Out. It was by far my favorite evening with my campers and fellow counselors for a multitude of reasons: dinner over a fire, sleeping by a creek, hiking with two of my besties and 25 elementary kids, counselor-camper dodgeball. But the real reason was a precious moment I still remember to this day with the female campers and counselors. We would be sitting under the stars in the middle of a field, our campers piled around us, cuddled as close as physically possible, and we’d be talking about their worth in Christ. The leaders would explain to them just how precious they are as daughters of God.
Many of our young girls would be tearing up, snuggling closer, and staring up at the stars in awe; the God who made the stars made each one of them. And the God who made the stars created each of them for a special purpose, and loved them more than all those stars up there. And then our leader would break out her guitar, and we’d tell the little girls to listen to this beautiful message we had for them from the Lord:
“My child you are more precious than silver,
my child you are more costly than gold,
my child you are more beautiful than diamonds,
nothing I desire compares to you…”
(Hymn by Lynn DeShazo, lyrics changed from “Lord,” to “my child”)
Every week without fail, I’d be crying through these lyrics, hugging my precious girls, and soaking up the goodness of God. The Lord had important, beautiful plans for these little ladies, and we got to show them this love, and present it to them in a way we hoped they would never forget. We’d walk quietly back to our campsites, lie down next to the creek, and listen to the sounds of nature as we fell asleep. It was a beautiful time for the girls to just bask in the love of their God, and know deep in their bones as they slept that he loved them more than anything ever.
And as I had my babies, I’d often sing songs to them as I nursed them in the quiet moments in the middle of the night. When this song found its way into my mind, I’d sing it and cry quiet tears that the Lord loved them this much, too. The lyrics that really hit me especially in the stress of new motherhood were “nothing I desire compares to you…” I would be singing these to my babies, the ones the Lord gave for me to love, but I would also be hearing them in my heart for me.
Nothing the Lord desires in the world compares to each one of us. And that’s true for every one of us. It’s not only true for those who are always doing right. It’s not only true for those who are good, or who have it all together. It is not only true for mothers of well-behaved children. It is true for all of us, and it is true every day. It is not only true on the days when I get it right. It’s not only true on the days when I help others and read my bible. It is not only true on the days when the house is clean, and the laundry is done. It is true all day every day no matter how I act, no matter what I accomplish.
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14
We’ve seen this verse a thousand times I am sure. And we’ve heard about how much the Lord loves us, and has created us special, but have you really let it sink in? Have you really accepted that the Lord loves you, created you, chose you? You were made by God, and his works are only wonderful. There is no other option for what God has created, we know that full well. We know that what God creates is perfect for it’s purpose, and it’s plan, so why can’t we believe that for ourselves?
Next time you see beauty in nature, in art, really anywhere, I want you to think of how God created you. I want you to think of the fact that God created that beautiful thing, and it is amazing and wonderful, but he also created you. And you are far more important and precious and beautiful than any created thing in this world. You are more important to him than the mountains, the ocean, the sunsets, the sound of falling rain: there is nothing that he desires that compares with you.
When you look around at the current state of our world and are overwhelmed by it all, remember that God created you for the here and now, and he only creates wonderful things. Life is tough, but we’ve got the God of this world looking out for us, and he desires us, he stands for us, he fights for us. Remember that to him you are more precious than silver, more costly than gold, and more beautiful than diamonds. All day, every day, in God’s heart, nothing compares to you.
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