If you’re from the South and love the Lord, then you’ve probably heard of this neat little thing called the Passion Conference. This year, I attended the Passion Conference for the first time.

The conference is held in Atlanta, Georgia, right after New Year’s.

Obviously, the South doesn’t get very cold in the Winter, but these three days in Georgia were forecasted to be pretty frigid. When I began packing (which is a week-long process for girls), I immediately thought to grab my leggings to layer under my jeans.

I made my packing list and began to meticulously place things in my suitcase. I opened every drawer in my room grabbing everything I would need for this trip- all the while, forgetting those leggings I’d earlier mentioned.

When I returned home from Atlanta, I remembered those leggings I forgot to pack and realized I needed to find them. I went to my sister’s room first, assuming she had them. She pulled all of her shorts and leggings out, and indeed, did not have them. Next, I went to my mom’s room and asked her if she’d seen them- she hadn’t. My next stop was the laundry room, incase they had been in a load of laundry of mine I washed before I had left. They weren’t there, either.

I was frustrated and confused. I walked back to my room and pulled out my bottom drawer. There laid my leggings- in their rightful spot.

In that moment, I felt God whisper to my spirit, “You do this with more than leggings.”

And for a short time, I sat in confusion, then I understood.

So many times, I leave the God I love, and that loves me, and seek affirmation and validation in all the wrong places.

Those leggings do not belong in my sister’s room. They do not belong in the laundry room. They belong in my bottom drawer.

My identity is not found in a boy. My worth is not found in a scholarship or job opportunity. It is found in my Jesus and what He did for me on the cross.

We can walk through life more confident and less frustrated when we rest in who He is and stop seeking affirmation in worldly things that will never be able to provide what Jesus only can.

A boy was not created to complete me or define me.

A job was not intended to complete or define me.

A scholarship opportunity was not offered to complete or define me.

In Jeremiah chapter one, we read of a God who called Jeremiah to carry the Gospel, despite his age or inadequacies- a God who chose Jeremiah before he was even born.

The same God who has chosen you and me.

The same God who loves you and me.

The same God who calls you and me.

When our identity is tied to wavering circumstances and humans, we’re sure to live in fear and anxiety. But when who we are is tied to who He is – unwavering, faithful, loving, good – we can live daily in a secure confidence.

He is so good, and He’s got us.