Sawubona

Scripture For The Day 

 August 22, 2023

"Sawubona" 

In South Africa, they have an ancient greeting in Zulu that translates into “I see you, and by seeing you, I bring you into being.” According to their tradition, using this greeting helps to negate any preconceptions and judgments. We can strive to see each other as God created us. I love that.

This ancient greeting includes two parts. The first part is Sikhona, which means, “I am here to be seen.” And the other part is the reply- Sawubona, which as I stated before means, “I see you”. This affirmation helps to remind us that we do exist and that we are equal and that we should treat each other with respect.

What a loving world we would live in, if we treated each other with that kind of respect. With the way our society is today, even our children struggle with feelings of not being seen. Though it may be far from reality because of the love that surrounds them, it still doesn’t take away from how they may ‘feel’. I can relate to that. Because I have been there myself. We all desire to be ‘seen’. Not necessarily to be at the forefront of things but for people to see our hearts, to avoid having preconceived judgments against us. And oh, how quick people are to judge without knowing the full story. But there is ONE who knows who we really are and get this, He still Loves us. He searches us. He knows us. There is not a thought or a spoken word that goes unnoticed. We can’t fathom that kind of attention over us. But He created us. He Loves us. We are not invisible to Him. He has a desire for us to love Him. There is nowhere to hide and neither, should we want to hide from Him. Because it is in His Presence that we are made complete. It is in His Presence we can find comfort and peace. We are not invisible. We are SEEN. So, let us Praise Him because we are fearfully and wonderfully made by His Hands and His Breath. Let us Glorify Him because, without Him, we don’t even exist. He didn’t speak us into existence. He breathed His Own Breath into our souls. And we are Precious to Him. The thoughts He has over us are too many to even count and they are thoughts of Blessings and Encouragements, not of cursings. If we are to be ‘seen’ by anyone, let us find strength in knowing that He SEES us, and by seeing us, we are brought into being. As chaotic as everything seems to be anymore, I ask The Lord often to show me what He wants me to see and be forceful about it. Because my mind is all over the place anymore. Often, He will place people on my heart to pray over. So, even if you are feeling unseen or invisible this morning, be assured that God sees you and He Loves You and I am praying for you this morning. Sawubona, my friend, Sawubona- I see You!

Read all of Psalm 139.



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