Know Your Worth: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You

For most of my life I have suffered with self-esteem issues.  Even as a saved woman of God, I have battled low self-esteem and poor self-image.  What I have found in the past few months, however is that this has served to open the door to people who have used that to their advantage and who have in turn used me.  You see when you don't place the proper value on yourself, there are people who will use you, take advantage of your gifts and talents; while making you feel that they are doing you a favor.  They prey upon your insecurities and hurt you but they never say I am sorry and always manage to make you feel that somehow you are the problem.  Today I can tell you, dearly loved ones that I have been there, done that and have the scars to prove it.  But I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit, who in recent days has begun to minister this truth to me..."You have worth, and value and until you see this, there will always be someone standing in line to use you and take advantage."  So I want to share this truth with you.  As a teacher, and because I know my issue with low self-esteem and poor self-image, I have always counseled young women to "know their worth."  When I see them allowing someone to devalue them, I always ask them the question, "What value do you place on yourself?"  I now realize that this truth has been stuck in my head for many years, but has never made its way into my heart.  I never really knew my worth, never really placed value upon myself until I came face to face with the truth that I was being devalued, and that I had allowed it!  In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells the parable of the woman who lost a coin, ⁸ “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ I know that this scripture is referring to sinners coming to salvation, but I also believe that in a broader sense, it is talking about the value that the Father places on each of us.  This woman knew that the coin had value, so she didn't simply dismiss the fact that it was lost, even though she still had nine other coins, but instead she went to great pains to find that coin.  This simple story speaks a very deep, eternal truth to me, we matter to God!  He has taken great care in creating a masterpiece in each of us, a thing of beauty; a work of art!  And regardless of the countless billions that have walked this earth, we are each priceless to Him!  When we devalue ourselves, or allow others to devalue us, we are saying that the masterpiece that God created, you and me, is really worthless!  How do you suppose the Father feels as He observes us allowing ourselves to be used and discarded like a Kleenex that someone used to wipe their nose?  I can only imagine that it causes Him great pain.  Psalms 139:14 gives us a good view of how the Father wants us to see ourselves: "I praise [thank] You because You made me in an amazing [awesome] and wonderful way. What You have done is wonderful. I know this very well."(EXB)  We, beloved, are valuable to God!  Even when we don't count ourselves as having value, even when others discount our value, God the Father always knows our worth.  In Matthew 10, Jesus reminds us of this..."²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."(ESV) During Jesus' time, sparrows were of so little value that two sparrows were sold for less than a penny in today’s currency, but God cared so much for them that not one of them was lost or destroyed without Him being aware of it; but Jesus goes on to remind us that we are so valuable to God that He took the time to number even the hairs on our heads!  Dearly loved ones, I will say this again, we matter so much to God!  So my encouragement to you today is this...see yourself as the valuable silver coin, the wonderfully made masterpiece, the creation so precious that your Father even took the time to count the hairs on your head; and do not allow ANYONE into your life who does not know your value and your worth!  
Be encouraged beloved and keep your eyes on the Father!

  Evangelist Carolyn