Forgiven

	Forgiven
	by Sanctus Real
	When I don't fit in and I don’t feel like I belong anywhere/ When I don’t measure up to much in this life/ Oh, I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ
	Allow God to work through your brokenness and insecurities, you may just be surprised at what He chooses to do. In Philippians, Paul used his weaknesses to draw others to Christ:
	Philippians 3:8-14 , New Living Translation
	Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I f ocus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
	Why is it so easy to feel out of place in this world? It is easy to look around and feel like everyone around us knows exactly who they are and where they’re going. Everyone else seems to have it all together. But the truth is that nobody actually has it all figured out. Those people who have all the “right” clothes, and the “right” car, and the “right” house, and the “perfect” kids, they are in the same boat as you. Scratch the surface and you’ll find they have the same insecurities and problems that you do. They think you have it all together too. But Christ is the great equalizer. As Sanctus Real said, “When I don’t fit in…I’m a treasure in the arms of Christ.” When you follow Christ, your problems don’t go away. You don’t instantly figure out the meaning of life or get a bigger bank account. But knowing that you are somebody to Someone so powerful can change your outlook. Knowing Him allows you to see others differently, and to not judge yourself against them so harshly. And more importantly it allows you to be honest about who you are, your problems, and your fears, because you know that He’s not going to leave you or abandon you because of them. And that allows you to reach out to others out of your brokenness, which will ultimately bring you, and them, healing and strength.