Valentine’s Day.

Some of you just melted in your chair at the mention. Your special someone has a date planned. Hand-holding. Flowers. Quoted poetry. Long, uninterrupted gazes and whispered “I love you’s.”

Dreamy.

Others of you (those who just threw up) denounce this ridiculous holiday as another marketing gimmick to sell cards and chocolate. You’re boycotting it completely. You’re no fool.

To parents of young children (Me! Me! Me!), Valentine’s Day is nothing more than gluing uncommonly small pieces of construction paper and glitter to shoeboxes, helping little Jack write three thousand Scooby-Doo valentines, and whipping up one billion cupcakes decorated with frosting and sprinkles for the classroom party. Which, of course, will leave him riding on a sugar high that will last well past Easter.

Romantic dinner? I don’t think so.

To the single, divorced and widowed, you don’t have much of anything planned. February 14 is just one more painful reminder that life is absent someone to share it with. A day you wish was over with already. Been there, my friend. I get it.

Valentine’s Day is tough. So much hope and expectation and disappointment wrapped into one Hallmark holiday. I’ve had my share of sweet ones, including 16 years ago today when Valentine’s Day brought me a 9 lb. 5 oz. baby boy. But I’ve also had my share of tough ones, day I both boycotted and grieved. Still, regardless of the bitter and the sweet, at heart I’ve always wanted one thing:

To feel wanted. Not just for what I do. But for who I am.

Whether we admit it freely or hide it deep within, this is what we all want. To feel like we matter, that someone “out there” thinks we’re one-of-a-kind. And so we spend the 13^th of February hoping that sometime during the 14^th there will be someone who whispers in our ear …

I choose you. 

I don’t know relational status, nor do I know the status of your faith. But today I can’t not tell you about Someone who thinks you’re worth far more than you think. Out of all the Valentines you receive or don’t receive today, I want you to know there’s a very real God who says this about you:

• I will fight for you. (Exodus 14:14)
• I am the LORD who heals you. (Exodus 15:26)
• I will rain down bread from heaven for you. (Exodus 16:4)
• I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
• I am your refuge. (Deuteronomy 33:27)
• I will sustain you. (Psalm 55:22)
• I will watch over you. (Psalm 121:5)
• I will fulfill my purpose for you. (Psalm 138:8)
• I will heal the brokenhearted. (Psalm 147:3)
• I will gently lead those that have young. (Isaiah 40:11)
• I will strengthen you and help you. (Isaiah 41:10)
• I have summoned you by name. (Isaiah 43:1)
• I love you. (Isaiah 43:2)
• I remember your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25)
• I have made you and I will carry you. (Isaiah 46:4)
• I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46: 4)
• I have you engraved on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:16)
• I will direct you in the way you should go. (Isaiah 48:17)
• I will make you a light. (Isaiah 49:6)
• I am he who comforts you. (Isaiah 51:12)
• My unfailing love for you will not be shaken. (Isaiah 54:10)
• I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)
• You are worth more than many sparrows. (Matt. 10:30)
• I am with you always. (Matt. 28:20)
• Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (Luke 6:21)
• I have called you friend. (John 15:15)
• I chose you. (John 15:16)
• I am coming for you. (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20)

What He says, He means. Now and forever.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my friends. And remember, regardless of what’s in store today, the God of the Universe, the one who created you from the tips of your toes to the twinkling of your eyes …

He chooses YOU.

Which of these reassurances mean the most to you today? Is there someone else who needs to hear it?