He Finds You Worthy

We live in a society that judges worth and assigns status on external measures. Sometimes those values and the messages we receive can begin to impact how we feel deep inside. Women especially, begin to judge themselves due to certain social indicators which may be out of their control: marital status, income status, external appearance, social standing with peers, social standing in the church, whether or not they have had children, how their children have succeeded in life. Such measurements have little to due with a person’s true value. Yet often impact confidence, quality of life and goal pursuits.

It can erode self worth to the degree that we become emotionally stunted and focused on past mistakes, especially if we’ve made serious ones and we feel that we just don’t measure up. Instead of finding positive solutions, we may begin to sabotage any prospects for success and our eternal hope by turning away from God.

 It may be surprising to know, that at the outset, God is not looking for perfection. He also knows that from time to time we will fall.  Human beings are flawed, frail creatures despite the fact that we like to believe otherwise. It takes humility and modesty to acknowledge we need Him. Doing so, is the recipe for peace of mind and happiness (Matthew 5:3).

A View of Women Jesus Chose

God makes it clear that His judgement is based on what others cannot see (1 Samuel 16:7). While humans look at the outside and judge our worth, God sees the heart.

The woman at the well, at face value, should not have garnered the favor she received from the Son of God.  His own disciples pointed that out. She was a Samaritan. Yet Christ revealed to her first that he was the Son of God and gave her insights regarding her life that may have changed its direction forever. 

Another woman judged unworthy by those who wanted her condemned is the woman caught in the adulterous act. An act worthy of the death penalty at the time, Christ refused to judge or condemn her leaving her instead with the instruction to walk away from her current life of sin. Why? Because she was worthy of more.

God’s says, at Jeremiah 29:11, His thoughts towards us are ‘thoughts of peace and not of calamity, to give you a hope and future.’  When we are tempted to reject ourselves because of perceived failure, we should remember how God sees us.  We are not defined by the external negative views of others. Neither are we defined by past abuse, past mistakes, or even current ones. We do not have to continue to believe or live out the negative stories.

Jesus, by showing grace to the woman caught in the adulterous act and the woman at the well, disrupted their life story, and He aims to do the same for all. 

Walking Away From Mistakes

The issue with past mistakes is that it eats away at our self worth and erodes how we value ourselves over time. There is nothing we can do, however, to undo the past. We can choose to learn from and not repeat our mistakes.  We can recognize our negative patterns and choose better. That is what the Christian faith is ultimately about. Choosing God and believing what His word says.  

God guarantees our worth down to our genetic code (Matthew 10:29-31); so we never have to fear being devalued by mere humans who are here today and gone tomorrow. The person who matters most is the one we see in the mirror every day. We must decide. Do I believe God or the world? In His eyes, you are worth more than gold.