“Where’s my girl?”
My son was about three years old when he gave his sister this nickname.
He’d pad out of his bedroom following naptime, his hair still a mess of bed-head, rubbing his eyes with the blanket still in his fist. He’d ask right away to find, “My girl.”
“Your girl?” I’d ask.
“Where’s my girl? Where’s Catherine?”
“Can I go see my girl at the school?”
“Can I sit next to my girl in the van?”
“I want to paint a picture for my girl.”
He even went so far as to proclaim that Catherine was “My best girl ever in the world.”
Catherine, of course, loved all the affection.
He staked his own little personal claim on his sister by calling her “my girl,” and I wonder what that could change in me?
What would it look like for me to stake some claims of my own by getting possessive about my faith, my position in Christ and my relationship with Him?
I don’t mean claiming some exclusivity with Jesus that others can’t enjoy. That’s not it.
I mean letting my faith seep down into the nittiest grittiest details of my every interaction and my every response and my every thought and feeling because it’s so deeply personal to me, it’s the very essence and core of who I am.
It reminds me of the disciple Thomas who stood in a room with the other apostles and announced he’d believe that Jesus raised from the dead when he saw it with his own two eyes.
And then he did see Jesus. Not only that, Jesus invited him to touch the scars in his palms and feel the scar along his side.
Jesus said:
“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28 ESV).
I love Thomas’s answer.
MY LORD AND MY GOD.
In the Matthew Henry Commentary, it says,
He spoke with affection, as one that took hold of Christ with all his might; My Lord and my God.
And Matthew Poole’s Commentary says:
My Lord, to whom I wholly yield and give up my self; and my God, in whom I believe. It is observed, that this is the first time that in the Gospel the name of Godis given to Christ.
This apostle we call “Doubting Thomas” was the very first one in the gospels to give Jesus the name of God. This was a declaration of deity. This was worship.
It was also Thomas’s personal statement of affection and personal confession of belief.
I want to be that personal.
I want to be that bold.
I want to “take hold of Christ with all my might.”
He isn’t just Lord and God, a deity over all, a divine overseer who loves all of humanity in one encompassing feeling of committed affection.
He is MY Lord and MY God.
He is this for you, also.
And that should change some things.
This week I’ve been swatting away worries like pesky flies.
I’ve been duking it out with that kind of tension that just eases down on your shoulders and won’t go away, the kind that wakes you up at 3 a.m. and doesn’t let you slip back to sleep.
But Jesus is MY Lord and MY God.
I know He is able. He is Mighty. He can do the impossible. He can overcome anything I face.
There is nothing that happens to me that surprises Him and nothing that interrupts or destroys His plans for me.
And He loves me. It’s personal. He has set His affection on me and He cares about what happens to me. He doesn’t forget about my need or turn His back on me and let me down.
MY Lord and MY God is trustworthy and capable, compassionate and powerful, full of loyal love for me.
So slip your hand into His hand. Save Him a seat next to you in the minivan. Make Him the first person you seek when you wake up from naptime (if you are blessed enough to have a naptime!).
Pour your affection on Jesus and put all your faith in Him. Make it personal, deep-down real. And let that wildly abandoned faith change everything.
Heather C. King - Room to Breathe 
I love this! “Slip your hand into His hand.” What a beautiful idea! Yes, I am slipping my hand into His today and feeling the love and comfort only He can provide.
Yes! I hope you have a blessed day!
I am desperate. I liked your story and I am sorry that my comment is random, but I need prayer. I found your blog years ago and your blog helped me when things were tough in my marriage. My husband wants to leave. Our foundation wasn’t build on Jesus, but sin. I deceived him at the start. I thought he forgave me, but 8 years later and my complacency, laziness, omitting, selfishness, lack of effort, lack of being able to communicate on my end, and struggles with motherhood has made him weary. I try to change, but I fail to stay consistent with God for Him to change me. I know you don’t know the whole story, but if he leaves then it is mostly because of my mistakes. I have watched way too many movies and don’t even know how to really express how I feel without it seaming like I am acting or taking it for granted. I hope this makes since. How do I fight for a marriage that I mostly broke? How do I honor God in this? How do I pray to be the help meet he needs if he is tired and wants to move on? I don’t want a divorce. I don’t want a distant marriage. I don’t want him to leave me and take our son. I want God and them. I love my husband. HELP and bless you.
Dawn, I was away all last week and I’m catching up on my messages. I saw your post and I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles in your marriage. I’m praying for you! I know there is no quick fix here. It does sound like you are willing to repent of your past mistakes and to begin in that place–asking for forgiveness, asking for God’s help and help from others and changes you need to make for the future. Of course, all of this is cemented in prayer. One of my favorite prayer guides is Stormie O’Martian’s Prayers for Your Husband. She also wrote a prayer book called: The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage. There is no guarantee that everything will work out in all the ways you want it to—and yet we do know that God is able, God is good, He will not leave you, He will be your comforter and strength.