It’s no secret that I used to struggle with insecurity. I’ve talked about how God has taught me to be bold and courageous. It has been through God showing me who he sees when he looks at me, that I have been able to conquer insecurity. 

Just because I know the truth of who God says I am, doesn’t mean that I never struggle with my old, false identity making an appearance once in a while. I wrote the following words in November of 2021. During this time, I was struggling with a severe case of insecurity. I had been praying about it and declaring who I really am. (Just like I always tell you to do!) 

An internal battle raged between how I felt and what I knew to be true. As I continued for days and even weeks in this battle, I felt the Lord give me the following message. I wanted to share it with you because I want you to see that I definitely don’t always have everything all together. I still battle with false identity. Even though I know how to fight back, it sometimes takes time to get my feelings to match what I know. I hope you are blessed and encouraged after you read what the Lord said to me. 

Masterpieces

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Michelangelo’s Statue of David. The Sistine Chapel. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. All of these can be called masterpieces. In fact, I have personally seen the Sistine Chapel and the Statue of David. Both took my breath away. 

The Sistine Chapel has so many things to look at it was actually a bit overwhelming to my brain. I could have sat in there for days looking at all the intricate artwork. 

Of all the things I saw when I lived in Ireland and traveled throughout Europe, Michelangelo’s Statue of David is by far the most amazing sight. The statue is 17 feet tall (5.17 meters). I still am in awe when I think about it. You can see the veins protruding from his hand and arm. His hair looks like individual strands of hair. He even has a six pack! This statue looks like a human made from marble. You could almost sense the emotion and the confidence in David’s face. For the life of me, I can’t understand how anyone can make something so life-like out of marble. If you ever have a chance to visit Florence, Italy, go see this spectacular statue. I promise it will be worth the wait!

I Am God’s Masterpiece

Something God is teaching me is that I am HIS masterpiece. As gifted as some of these guys were, they still can’t hold a candle to the workmanship of God himself. 

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:10‬ (‭NLT)‬‬ (emphasis added)

There are things God has planned for me to do. He thought about all I am destined to do before the foundations of the world were set. 

“Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:4-5‬ ‭(ESV‬‬)

I also love how the New Living Translation puts it. 

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:4-5‬ (‭NLT)‬‬

God Was Thinking About Me Before Creation

Before God said, “Let there be light,” he was already thinking about me and chose me to be holy and without fault in his eyes. He already wanted me to be in his family, and he hadn’t even created anything yet! 

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:16-18‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬

Before I was born, God spent time writing a book about me. I wonder what it says. Writing is such a personal thing. If I were writing a letter to one of my kids, I would spend lots of time thinking about who they are and what I see as their future. God spent time thinking about me and what he saw as my future and wrote it down in a book called, “The Life of Cherise Best: My Masterpiece.” I want to fulfill every word God wrote about me. It is my desire to be the masterpiece God wrote about. I am that masterpiece God wrote about. 

What Does My Book Say

In the book called, “The Life of Cherise Best: My Masterpiece,” God wrote about a girl who would marry a boy named Brett Best. They would have three kids and live all over the world. She would be a kind and loving girl whose deep down desire is to show everyone around her how amazing and awesome they are. Cherise loves to see the light bulb go off in others eyes when they finally see how much they are worth in the eyes of Jesus. She is always telling others how Jesus thinks they are so precious, that he was willing to die for them. He literally thinks they are worth dying for. 

Although she can see the value of others, she has an enemy who tries his best to cloud her vision of the worth she has. This is something God never wrote about in her book. He desires that she sees herself just like she sees others. He thought she was worth dying for too. It was her face Jesus saw on the cross as he took on her sin and prayed the prayer of forgiveness to his Father in Heaven. 

God Sees Himself In Cherise

Just as earthly parents sometimes see themselves in their children, so God sees himself in Cherise. She is so kind and loving just like him. She desires to stand up for truth and stand in the gap for those who need it just like Jesus. His desire is to grow those seeds that develop into the person who is so much like Jesus, one can barely tell the difference. 

She just needs to surrender and allow him to work in the soil of her mind and soul. There is some tilling and digging that needs to be done before those seeds can be planted and grown. When a seedling sprouts, the soil is disrupted and broken. It is in this breaking where true beauty is revealed. 

Words From God To Cherise

Yes, I have done most of the tilling and digging. Now I am planting. Be patient and wait. Know that when the pain of the seedling breaking through occurs, you will feel it. Rejoice, for you know that the true beauty of who I created you to be will be revealed. You will shine like never before. Cherise, you will be completely secure in who I created you to be. You will be exactly who I was thinking of when I wrote your book. Keep meditating on what I say about you. Remember how far you have already come. You aren’t that broken little girl anymore. You are strong, and your confidence is found only in me. Stay close to me and watch how you grow into an even more confident woman. 

Let It Be So Lord!

I agree with all you see when you look at me. My desire is to fulfill all you have planned for me, all you wrote about me in my book. Thank you for continuing to mold me into the real Cherise Best. I know the pain I feel now will be worth the beauty that comes because of it. Really, it’s not nearly as painful as it once was to grow in this area. Thank you for taking me this far already. I look forward to seeing the next layer of the real Cherise Best. I am your masterpiece.

There is no one like me, and that is a very good thing. I bring a flavor into the world that no one else can. I am worth dying for. Because Jesus says so, I have great value, and I know I can trust what he says. He is the truth after all. My name is Cherise Best, and I am awesome!