From Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri Nouwen (one of my favorite books).
“Without trust, I cannot let myself be found. Trust is that deep inner conviction that the Father wants me home.
As long as I doubt that I am worth finding and put myself down as less loved than my younger brothers and sisters, I cannot be found.
I have to keep saying to myself, ‘God is looking for you. He will go anywhere to find you.
He loves you, he wants you home.
There is a very strong, dark voice in me that says the opposite: ‘God isn’t really interested in me.’
By telling myself that I am not important enough to be found, I amplify my self-complaint until I have become totally deaf to the voice calling for me. At some point, I must totally disown my self-rejecting voice and claim the truth that God does indeed want to embrace me.”