Pursuing Heavenly Worth

Friday, February 25, 2022

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I can remember in high school, always asking my mom, coaches, teachers, etc., to Tell me I'm worth it, not in those specific words obviously. It looked like this; "I got an A", "I went 5/5 at the plate", "I had zero turnovers", "I got offered a scholarship". I would unintentionally ask for approval in order to determine my worth.

Now, later in life, I've acknowledged it's almost less about parental and authority approval, as I am confident in myself I have achieved it for the most part, but friendship approval, and approval from those my age. I will ask for others to Tell me I'm worth it, and it looks like, "How does my hair look?", "Do you think I'm pretty?", "Are you happy with me?", "Does this fake-tan look real?".

Just this month, and past weekend I've caught myself comparing my traits and crediting to others how I look to the fake blonde in my hair, and the fake tan, and eyelashes I've been, if I must say "ROCKING." All of these things are fine to have, and they are fine to boost confidence, and are fine to "ROCK" until they are the things you are relying on to make yourself quote unquote Worthy.

It's so easy to do this. I've connected my worth to the approval of others for a long time, but God wants more for me and you and I do too. He calls us to seek Him for our heavenly worth. A worth that is not based on what we did, or what we can do, or how good our fake tan looks, but a worth based solely on Him and who He says we are.

How beautiful, how freeing when we stop pursuing worldly worth and start pursuing heavenly worth. What does this look like?

Your self-worth should come from your heavenly worth.

I commonly see two types of people. Because I've been both. The people who think too high of themselves and the people who think too low of themselves. Both are dangerous, and neither are the way God intends us to live.

I looked up the definition of self-worth: "Confidence in one's own worth or abilities."

Right now, self-worth and self-help is a hot topic and talked about often. They have books on books on books about how to create the life you want and what you can do to feel better about yourself. I want to be clear: self-help is great, and a lot of the book on self-help are great, but it can't be the only help we get. As the definition above says, self-worth is a confidence in one's own worth or ability, meaning a confidence without God. I don't know about you, but I'm not confident of my worth or abilities without Him. Honestly, when I even try to picture my life without Him there is no confidence at all.

Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 says, "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes."

I love this. It's so simple, but Paul writes that even before He created the world, He thought of us. Chose us, and made us without fault in His eyes. How wonderful that you are worthy. That I am worthy, without conformation from anyone else. The God of the universe loves you, chose you, and made you perfect.

Psalm 139: verse 13-18 says,

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you."

What a beautiful passage to remind us not only how intentional and complex our God created us, but how much He thinks of us- His thoughts outnumber the grains of sand and He saw us before we were born. Every moment of our lives is already laid out.

When doubt and fear rise up on the inside of myself, I can be reminded that I am worthy, and so are you, and that even though He knew your every mistake, failure, and misstep, He still chose you and loves you. Wow, what a God.

You were made like Him, for Him.

I saw on google, a few years ago where they came out with a list of commonly searched phrases and one of them was, "Why am I here?" If I'm honest, if made me super sad to know that so many people had to ask that question to a computer/phone screen, but I get it, far too well. That is the world we live in, there are so many questions and not enough answers. Another reason why the great commission is so important, but the answer to that question is in His word:

We exist to be like Him and to bring Him glory.

Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us."

God created us in His image to be like Him. The questions I tend to ask myself that might help you. Does my life reflect who He is? Do I look like Him? and sometimes I answer no. and that's okay. It's a daily process because we are human and we are sinful. Dying to ourselves is not easy or natural, but it's God's way and it's the best way to live.

1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

For such a long time, I struggled with my purpose, and when I came across this scripture it gave me so much peace, because I felt that God spoke to my heart that His plans for me didn't always have to look grand or have huge impact for my life to have purpose.

It can seem in certain seasons vision, purpose, and passion aren't as clear or as exciting as before, you may even feel that God is quiet in certain seasons- that is why holding onto this scripture is so important- because no matter what you do, big or small, our purpose in this life really is only to look like Him and bring Him glory.

Your life has meaning now.

Someone out there is believing that life will start...

when you're older,

when you have the right job,

when you hit a certain amount of followers,

when you get married,

when you release a book or a podcast,

when you speak at your first conference, etc.

That is a lie. Your life has meaning now, and God wants you to know that, and know your worth in the NOW. No matter how old you are or how experienced or inexperienced you are, your life has value and God wants to use you today.

Jeremiah 1:4-10 says,

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescueyou,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

What is your I'm too ______? I challenge you to replace that fear with God's truth today and everyday.

Three Practical Tips To Pursue Heavenly Worth: Surround, Seek, & Speak.

#1 being to Surround.

Surround yourself with people who will champion you, and point you to Jesus when your flesh wants to give up or seek the world for your worth. If your close circle of friends doesn't remind you of your heavenly worth, you will naturally look for approval from the world. Accountability is important. The Bible is so clear that we cannot do this on our own. So, with that WHO is surrounding you?

#2 being Seek.

Seek your heavenly worth. Seek out the word of God. Seek out to what God calls you too. I recently went through the Bible and sought out all the names that God calls me: Daughter, child, blessed, favored, healthy, beautiful, complex, to name a few. It's hard to remember our heavenly worth when these labels do not come to us naturally. That is why time with God is so important. So, are you seeking your heavenly worth?

#3 being Speak.

Prayer is so powerful. We cannot do this journey without God. Without Prayer. You words are so powerful, they are spirit wrapped in sound. God wants us to use them to talk to Him. He wants to reveal how worthy you are to Him through that personal relationship with Him. So, do you talk to God?

God is with you, loves you, and chose you. Hear that again, God CHOSE you. Your worth is based on Him, not on anything you can do or will do, and definitely not on another person, title, or tan you may or may not have.

Friend, be refreshed, be encouraged, and be inspired to go out and walk out your heavenly worth-- because you are so worthy.