Know Your Worth
Do you know your worth? Not the worth you gain from people or from the things you accomplish in the world but the worth you have with God. I have, and still do struggle with this from time to time. Sometimes I feel like I just cannot comprehend how I can be worth anything with the things I’ve done. How could God love me knowing that I have hurt so many people, and have lived a life that was way below the standards of what is taught from the Bible? (Romans 5:8) Well, for me, I had things happen to me growing up and because of those things I became upset at God. I didn’t understand why, if there was a God out there that loved me so much, that I had to go through such awful things. I felt like no one could or did love me. I was so hard on myself for everything. I would sit and think, often, that my life had no value, no purpose and no worth. I didn’t feel good enough to even live anymore.
You know, when you value the opinions of others towards you more than the truth that God says about you, you will never be enough. The standards that we have for each other are unrealistic. People will always let us down. (Acts 17:27) None of us are perfect. And putting that much responsibility on someone else, to make us feel valuable, is really unfair. We have a God that thinks we are to die for. And Jesus did. People need to feel loved, of course, but we can become selfish when we expect someone else to always be there for that. God is always there, and always willing to love us. He won’t let us down. I learned a long time ago that it’s not God that hurts us, we hurt each other. He wants us to live a full and prosperous life. He doesn’t want us to be hurting. He doesn’t want us to hurt each other or ourselves. (Romans 13:9-10)
When we look to the world for worth and value, eventually we will feel lost and empty. The world cannot fill our hearts. The world cannot fix our problems or guide us on the right path. The God that created the world and everything in it can- and will. He is our comforter. He is our Father. When the value we have for ourselves is based on the truth from God, nothing that people say can stop us.
You are valuable, you have a purpose and you are unconditionally loved. (1 John 4:16) People will hurt you, sometimes unintentionally. But when you put your trust in God and know that He will guide you, you will begin to feel fulfilled and understand what other people are going through. Hurting people hurt others, and that includes hurting your confidence, self esteem and worth. Trust God and fight the evil that the enemy is trying to use to derail your purpose.(Ephesians.6:10-18). When you don’t feel confident, you don’t feel like you can accomplish the things that God has planned for you. Don’t let insecurities get between you and the love that God has for you. I struggled with this for a long long time, but I can tell you that when you put your confidence in God, the struggle becomes less and less. And with that your perception of yourself grows more and more positive. You will also begin to understand the hurt of others and feel compassionate towards them. Their words won’t hurt (sometimes they will) as much and you’ll be able to pour out God’s love to people that used to seem unlovable.(2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
When you love yourself and have confidence, God can shine that love to the people around you that need it. He can turn that mess into a message and your test into a testimony. Trust Him and your life will be filled. (Proverbs 3:5-6).