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Priceby Ben Huberman |
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt. Not sure how to participate? Here are the steps to get started.
If you were to put a price on yourself, what would you say you’re worth? Would you say you are worthy of all the love, joy and peace that every human longs for? Or would you say you’re worthless? How do you value yourself? Is your value based on what others say about you? Or is it based on what you think of yourself? Do you think more highly of yourself than you should? Or do you devalue yourself? How should we value ourselves?
It makes sense to look to the One who created us. He alone knows why He made us, and what we were made for. How does God, our Creator value us? In order to understand how God values us, it is important to know what our purpose is. What were we created for?
Bring all who claim Me as their God, for I have made them for My glory. It was I who created them.
We were created for God’s glory. Think about that. We weren’t created to be garbage thrown in a rubbish heap. We weren’t created to be nothing or no one. We were created for God’s glory. Do you know what that means?
It means that everyone who is reading this post right now, and struggling with his/her self-worth, must now realize that you were created for a great purpose. Dictionary.com defines glory this way:
noun, plural glories
- very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown: to win glory on the field of battle.
- something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride: a sonnet that is one of the glories of English poetry.
- adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving: Give glory to God.
- resplendent beauty or magnificence: the glory of autumn.
- a state of splendor, magnificence, or prosperity.
- a state of absolute happiness, gratification, contentment, etc.: She was in her glory when her horse won the Derby.
- the splendor and bliss of heaven; heaven.
This is life-changing. If everyone, who calls themselves a child of God, could see themselves through His eyes, it could change the world. When I see that I was created to bring the glory to God that is due Him, it changes me. No longer am I content to remain stagnant, for I was created to give glory to God Almighty, my Creator, and the Creator of the universe.
I can no longer view myself as stupid or worthless, (things that others have said about me), because God created me to bring glory to Him, and how can something with no worth glorify God? Furthermore, how can something stupid accomplish the goal that God has set forth for him/her to accomplish?
What else does God say about our worth? Let’s begin at the beginning…
26 Then God said, “Let Us make human beings in Our image, to be like Us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
27 So God created human beings in His own image.
In the image of God He created them;
male and female He created them.
Beloved reader, you need to understand this, not only with your mind, but with your heart and soul as well. I don’t care if you were born with all of your limbs, some of your limbs, or none of your limbs. It matters not whether you’re as smart as someone else, or whether you’re a slow learner. It doesn’t matter if you like what you see when you look in the mirror, or if you don’t like it. None of these things matter, because YOU were created in the image of God. Do you understand this? YOU were created to give God glory, and He created YOU in His image. Therefore, when you look in the mirror, and hate what you see, you are not just hating yourself, you are hating the Creator who made YOU in HIS image. You not only see yourself as worthless, but you see your Creator as worthless, because YOU look like HIM!
What else does your Creator say about your worth???
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.17 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!
Let’s really take the time to examine this passage, because it really shows our value in God’s eyes. In verse 13, we read that God made all of the delicate, inward parts of our bodies. He made the parts we can see, and the parts that can’t be seen. He made the parts we like, and He made the parts that sometimes bring us shame. He made every single delicate inward part of our bodies, and He labored over them too.
For those who have ever knitted anything, or tried to knit, you know that it is a labor intensive skill. In order to execute it properly, the one who is knitting must pay careful attention to each stitch, because just one slipped or missed stitch can ruin the entire piece. Not only must careful attention be paid, but the knitter must also possess a high degree of skill, for the project to turn out properly. Knitting is not something to be rushed through. It takes time, patience, and skill. Therefore, when you realize that God carefully knit you together in your mother’s womb, you realize that He was taking special care during the nine months that you were being created in your mother’s womb.
14 Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
Just look at this! God wasn’t just making some simple little sweater, when He created you. He was creating a wonderfully complex being, unlike any other that He had created before. He was creating the unique individual that is you, and His workmanship on you (and me too) was marvelous! Go ahead. Look in that mirror again, and take a really good look at the wonderfully marvelous person that God created to bring Him glory.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Let this thought fill you. While you were being created in utter seclusion, God was watching over you. He saw you before you were born, and you were so precious to Him, that He wrote a book about YOU. He wrote about every single moment that would happen in your life, including this moment, right now, as you read these words. He didn’t just dictate what your life would be like. He wrote this book about you, because He knew you, and He knew the things you would go through, and the choices (both the good and the bad) you would make. He wrote this book, because you were so important, so valuable to Him, that your life was worth writing about.
17 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!
Understand this, beloved reader. God thinks about you – alot! In fact, He thinks of you so much, that His thoughts of you cannot be numbered, and each one of those thoughts are precious! In order for you to truly understand how important this is, let’s see how dictionary.com defines precious…
adjective
- of high price or great value; very valuable or costly: precious metals.
- highly esteemed for some spiritual, nonmaterial, or moral quality: precious memories.
- dear; beloved: a precious child.
Beloved reader, God’s thoughts of you are precious, because you are of great value to Him. You are His precious child, created for His glory. Indeed, His love for you is so great, that He willingly sent His only Son to pay the penalty for your sins (and mine!). It was for you (and me too!) that Jesus willingly suffered, bled and died, so that we wouldn’t have to. Jesus went to death, hell and the grave, and on the third day, He arose from the grave, so that you and I could live eternally. And though it is appointed once for a man to die, judgment follows, and those who are called children of God, the ones whom He created for His glory, will arise to everlasting life…
So, beloved reader, what are you worth?
© 2016
Cheryl A. Showers
Burning Fire Shut Up In My Bones 
Wonderful post!
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Thank you Jess.
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