Take heart!  God is doing something new!!

In my last article, Do You Value Yourself?, I wrote about how the hardships of life can take it’s toll on our self-value.  But, Isaiah 43:1 tells us that we belong to God and He knows our names.  God’s love and value for us is like no other and it is this knowledge that carries us through the rough points in our lives.

Today I am writing about those rough points.  Times are rough for so many right now here in our country and certainly in other parts of the world with Haiti in the forefront.  May the Lord be with them providing miracles of provisions, healings, and salvation both physically and spiritually, and much comfort.

I don’t know what you’re struggling with today, but I encourage you to stop wrestling with the issue in the sense of wanting things to go back to the way they used to be.  Don’t we do that?  I know that I will find myself in that position from time to time.

We say things like if only this didn’t happen or that didn’t happen.  If we could just get things back to the way they used to be then life would be easy.  We will even make a plan on how to get it there, but does it really ever work out?  No.  Why? …

… Because life is forever changing.  Change is a good thing.  The quicker we wrap ourselves around the change that we are in the middle of the better off we will be, along with those around us and our situation.

“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, 
a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing! 
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

The wild animals honor me, 
the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

~Isaiah 43:16-21

Take heart!  God is doing something new!!

Whatever your situation is, embrace it!  Instead of dwelling in the past, look up and out!  God is doing something new in your life!  He is making a way for you in your desert.  He is making provisions for you, His chosen, so that you can proclaim His praise!

Glory be to God!

You have more value than you can imagine!

We live in a world where we are bombarded with negative messages.  Consciously or unconsciously these negative messages absorb into our consciousness and begin to toy with our self-images and can lead us down a path of feeling unvalued.

Add to that the pains and hurts we experience within our relationships, which by the way, begin the very moment we enter this world. Whether you come from a solid family with minor dysfunction or an unhealthy family where dysfunction reigns, pains and hurts cannot be avoided because we are all human … we live in a fallen world.

And, as I am sure you are well aware, our friendships can add insult to injury.  It is no wonder so many live their lives with low self-esteem, anxiety, and even depression.

Is that it? Do we just go with the flow and allow all this negativity to invade our personal environments causing us to believe we have no value?

The answer is a big NO!

You have more value than you can imagine! It’s time to ditch the lies and embrace the truth about you.

Think of someone you highly respect, someone you hold in a very high esteem.  What do you think and how does it make you feel when this person notices you and calls you by name?  It’s a sweet sound, isn’t it?

More than that, how does it make you feel when this person remembers your name?  Makes you feel good, doesn’t it?  A kind of “Wow! He remembers me”.  Makes you feel important and, yes, even valued.

“But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel: ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.  I’ve called your name.  You’re mine.’” Isaiah 43:1 The Message

Do you realize the King of kings, our heavenly Father, calls out our names?  As a child of God, He says that we are His!

What a beautiful thing.  Take the above scripture verse and put your own name in it like:

“But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Shileen, the One who got you started, Shileen: ‘Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.  I’ve called your name.  You’re mine.’” Isaiah 43:1 The Message

I love that!  The Creator of the universe knows my name, calls it out and tells me that I am his.  It fills my heart with love and joy and peace.

It’s time we stop believing all the lies that we have taken in over the years.  Refuse them.  When you catch yourself going there, just say, “NO!  That is no longer true of me!” and recite Isaiah 43:1. Then allow His love, joy, and peace to fill your soul.

Believe me! You have much more value than you can imagine!

It truly is amazing that Somebody of such high esteem … who is pure high esteem loves and values you and I so much.  It is His love that carries us through the rough points in our life. And it is in and through His love that we find our true value in this life.

God bless you as you journey to discover your truest value.