You Are Magnificent!

 Do you believe you're magnificent?

Do you see yourself as radiant?

Do you take people seriously when they say that you are wonderful?

No, nope, nada...

Why do you think some of us struggle to find, believe, accept our worth? Maybe that's not one of your struggles, but I know it is certainly one of mine. I have a hard time finding, believing, accepting that I have something valuable to offer and that I am not just a mistake of my parents...which they didn't say I was...they just called me a "surprise" but in my head that sounded a lot like, "Holy...blip...what a mistake!"

At any rate, sometimes I believe that in the process of trying to become humble and act in humility, often we...me...end up falling for the trap of denying my essence. My insecurity regarding my value comes from a place of darkness that is not of God. It is the enemy's tool to bring me down and to make me feel unworthy of God's enduring, mysterious, unexplainable, never-failing love. 

Why would God love me? I suck! I am totally unlovable! I'm the worst person ever to walk on this earth! Expressions like these are not communicating humility. They are communicating lack of understanding of who we really are. This type of self-destructive talk expresses an internal struggle between believing God's word and falling for the lies of the devil. 

How do we end such an internal battle?

I think, I'm not sure...here's my insecurities acting up again...but the answer is in internalizing the truth! And what is the truth? Well, for one, Jesus died for me. I mean...that's a pretty significant truth that should lift me up any time I feel low, don't you think? God loved me so much that He sent Jesus to be born and be sacrificed for the forgiveness of my sins...yes...mine...not just the sins of others...my sins too. He died for me as well. Over 2,000 years before my birth, Jesus died for me.  Mind blowing, isn't it? But TRUE!

I was created in the image of God. How's that for believing I'm valuable, huh? Not at the image of my earthly Father (which is what I always think since I am so much like him). I was created in the image of God Himself! I'm part of His creation, and all He created has His spark in it. Belittling myself is denying I have God's essence in me. I was fearfully and wonderfully made. And Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well, and that's the truth! I'm not boasting on how wonderful I am. I'm boasting on how wonderful Our Creator is, and on how marvelous His creation is and I praise Him for making me a part of it...a part of His workmanship, created for His good works! And as part of His creation, I look at Him, and He makes me radiant! And that's a FACT!

That's why the enemy works so hard on deceiving us. That's why the devil pushes us with such constancy against the wall of our insecurities. He wants us to believe the lie and forfeit the truth. He wants us to believe the lie of our worthlessness masqueraded in false humility to forfeit the truth that regardless of being completely undeserving, God chose us to be His own and to be a recipient of His Love and the temple of the Holy Spirit for a purpose that fits in His master plan, and through Him, despite all our flaws, we are magnificent!

Thank you, Lord, for reminding us of the truth. May we keep reading Scripture consistently so through its power You protect our hearts from the harmful lies of the enemy as we assimilate the truth of Your Love and of who we are: Yours! In the Precious Name of Jesus, Our Healer, Redeemer, Restorer and Friend. Amen!

Scripture references:

Psalm 34: 5  "Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame."

Ephesians 2: 10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works".

Psalm 139: 14 "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

2 Corinthians 5: 17  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Genesis 1: 27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."

1 Corinthians 6: 19 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,"

Genesis 1: 31 "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

It Ends in Victory!

Well, January is underway...2/3rds gone already. A snowy winter with low temps...I guess that's what winters in this neck of the woods are supposed to be like. It's just that we haven't in a few years, so I got used to mild temperatures and dry Januarys. 

Anyway, as I sit here, looking out my window at the snowed covered grounds that surround me, contemplating that a new semester is about to start, feeling the stress of work and the unknown creeping in once again...I remembered my word for this year: PEACE...and how easily I lose it...sigh...

Why is peace so elusive? 

Maybe this is not your struggle, but for me, peace is a most difficult goal to attain. Often, it feels more like a dream...like a fairy tale or fantasy football...like make-believe or lemon drops, rather than an actual, real fruit of the Holy Spirit. Why isn't the Spirit growing this fruit in me?

Yeah, I said it. The question that has been lingering in my heart forever. Why isn't the Spirit growing peace in me?

...long pause...

I wonder if 2 Corinthians 4: 18 might show some light on my conundrum,

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4: 18

Could it possibly be that part of the problem is that I am too focused on what is seen? Could it be be that I see everything through the lenses of this material world, and I forget that I am just passing through...that this is not home? 

Forgetting about the eternal could rob us from our stability.

Keeping our eyes on the things of this world could cause us to believe this is it.

Obsessing over our circumstances could steal our peace.

Like Pastor Dan said in his sermon yesterday, the thing we have to keep in mind and try to assimilate is that regardless of all the suffering, sorrow, problems, issues, hardships we may face in this sphere, for Christians, "it always ends in Victory!"

We have already won because Jesus is already Victorious and in Him we WIN! That is the eternal perspective. That is, I believe, what Paul is telling us. If we put our faith and our efforts in the material realm, we are basing our lives on the temporary. And the temporary, but definition, is not stable. But I think we do it because, at least if you are like me, we need to feel that we have some semblance of control. And we can only control what we see. So we invest our energy trying to make everything in our world just like so. In reality, however, our energy and time would be better spent in cultivating an eternal point of view. This eternal point of view allows us to see that we are part of God's master plan and that the things that happen to us while we are journeying through this earth are not where we find stability. The stability that brings peace is found on the Solid Rock upon which we stand, and as we trust Him, we let go...because we are confident in His promise that Victory is ours as much as it is His.

I know I am not just magically going to be swimming in the deep waters of the river of peace, completely undisturbed any time soon. However, I believe now, that the Holy Spirit IS working in me even if it is ever so quietly that I can hardly perceive it. But He IS because it is not about me. It is about His design, and I'm just a small piece of it, and as He works in others, He works in me as well...one day at a time...until He calls me home. 

My job in the meantime is to trust Him and to put my hope in the wisdom of His perfect will. Think eternal. Be grateful that He chose me to be a part of His plan. And remember we have already Won!

In the Precious name of Jesus our Christ! Amen!