Our need to feel valued is so powerful that we will go to unimaginable lengths to secure anything that gives us worth. Our need to feel valued is both dangerous and healthy. It’s only healthy if we derive our value from God—otherwise, it will absolutely cripple us and cause us to develop unhealthy addictions.
For example, if a spouse gives us our greatest worth—that person becomes our object of greatest affection; or, if our job gives us worth—it will capture the majority of our passion and devotion. All people and things are less than God. They are not equipped to handle our greatest soul satisfaction—much less our worship and adoration. But our enemies very often deceive us into believing that we will discover our greatest value in something, or someone less than God. Even church work can become the source where we try to find our worth. So, take a minute and self-assess:
What or who gives you a sense of consistent, deep value?
Now think about losing that thing or person and ask: What would you be without it? I’d say being a mother and being an attorney are both pretty close to the epicenter of my sense of worth. I’ve done both for so long, I can’t imagine who I would be without these roles. Yet, do you see why this is such a fragile sense of worth! Our most intrinsic value should come from who we are in Christ. But we will never attain this mindset unless two things happen.
First, we must be born again so our soul and spirit are enabled to communicate with Him.
And second, each day we must intentionally determine to grow in our relationship with Him.
Christ must become our greatest passion if we are to discover our true value.
Our enemies want to hide our value from us. They do everything to deceive us about who God is. They want us to think He is insignificant, irrelevant, powerless, and uncaring, while presenting everything else as the answer to our greatest desires.
The enemy appeals to our flesh to give us our sense of worth so he can enslave us; God offers us His Spirit to give us our worth so He can free us!
The Bible explains:
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
Galatians 5:1
We are valued by God. We need to actively remind ourselves of our value to God! God dares to love us; He chases us down; and He thought we were worth dying for! The realization of His love gives us inestimable worth.
Our value to God is a huge motivation to keep Him at the center of our greatest passions!
How do we grow in our understanding of our value to God? The Bible says:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-12
Those who learn to love God with all their heart, soul and mind—learn their inestimable value because they tap into the mind of God! Remarkable, right??? Loving God is to place Him first in our life. He must be the one we want to please more than anyone. We must be so passionate about being close to Him that we totally abhor anything that separates us from Him. Why is He worthy of such adoration? Because there is no one in heaven or on earth who has done as much for us. He loved us first and His love produces our love for Him.
“We love Him because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
My friend, Jesus thought you were worth dying for so…don’t you think He is worth living for?
2 Responses
Just the msg I needed to read this morning. Thank you
Amen brother—-me too!