But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

God smiles at you at every stage of your journey with him. He smiles at you when you’re a new Christian, just figuring out what it means to follow Jesus. He smiles at you when you’re a mature Christian, with years of growth behind you.

If you want to understand who you are in Christ, you need to recognize this truth: God is never ashamed of you. Even the apostle Paul, who wrote portions of the New Testament, understood he was far from perfect. He wrote, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12 NIV).

God wasn’t ashamed of Paul’s imperfections. God isn’t ashamed of yours, either.

Instead, God is cheering you on. He wants to bless you. He wants you to fulfill your calling.

Look at God’s message to the Israelites as they wandered in the desert: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26 NIV).

The Israelites were far from perfect. They made poor decisions. They had weak faith. They even chased after different gods. But God smiled on them. God is smiling at you, too.

He cheered them on.

And he’s cheering you on, too.