Day 49: You Are Not the Exception
When You Feel Like God's Afterthought
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…
— Romans 8:29 (NIV)
Reflection
I have noticed something strange in my coaching conversations. People will tell me all day long that they believe that God loves people. That He has a plan. That He is actively at work in the world.
But when it comes to themselves, they seem to believe something very different.
"Sure, God loves people, but I feel like He doesn't really want me."
"I feel like I'm the exception. The one who slipped in by mistake."
I feel both of these statements deeply because I've said each of them to myself at some point. I have often watched God work in other people and assumed that I was simply lucky to be along for the ride. Like I got in through a loophole and was a spiritual stowaway.
Do you ever feel that way? Like everybody else has this awesome, real connection to God, but somehow you missed it?
Paul talks about this in Romans 8. He is writing to people who needed to know that their relationship with God wasn't some kind of big mistake.
"For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son."
Yeah, I know. This verse makes people nervous. It gets all tangled up in theological debates about who is in and who is out. But here's what Paul is actually saying here: God's knowledge of you is personal.
He knows who wants relationship with Him. And when you step toward Him, you're not stepping into some backup plan. You are stepping into something that was ready and waiting for you.
In other words, you are not God's afterthought.
The moment you turned toward God, you became part of an intentional process: being shaped into the likeness of Jesus. Being transformed back into the original design for humanity, the life that you were made to live. Not because you earned it. Because that's what God does with people who want Him.
I have spent far too much of my life assuming that God was doing amazing things in other people but just tolerating me. That other people had some special access to transformation that I was missing.
That kind of thinking isn't humility. It's not practicality. It's insecurity. And it is what keeps you stuck.
Here's the thing: formation isn't just for pastors, Bible college students, or people who seem to have it figured out. It is for you. God knows you. He wants you. And He already knows what kind of person you are capable of becoming.
Stop making yourself the outlier. You're not the exception to God's love. You're not the one who slipped through the cracks. You're not on probation.
You are known. You are wanted. And you are being formed.
Prompt
Where have you assumed you were the exception to God's plan or affection? What would it look like to trust that your formation is not accidental?
Practice: Claim Your Inclusion
Write this phrase somewhere you'll see it today: "I am not the exception. I am known, wanted, and being formed."
Let that interrupt the lie every time it shows up.
Reminder
God doesn't work in generic grace. He knows you. He wants you. And He's already decided what kind of person you're becoming.
P.S. If you've been living like you're God's afterthought, this is your reminder that you're not.