Know Your Value

In today’s society people just want to fit in. They want people to like them. They want to be able to hold that job that everyone wants. They want to make a lot of money. They want to have that cool car or the big house. I am here to tell you that you are not defined by what you have or what you don’t have. You are not defined by what you can do or what you can’t do. You are defined by Jesus.

For most of my life, I have been one that looked at how others saw me. I wanted to be liked. I wanted to be really good at sports and at music. I didn’t want to be a failure. I wanted to be successful as the world defined success. I got so focused on how others saw me, I lost sight of how God sees me. I was more concerned about pleasing others and I forgot about pleasing God. And not only on that, I lost sight of how I see myself. When you can’t see your own value, that’s not good. The older I get, the more I realize those things don’t matter. What does matter is how God defines me.

Let’s take my height for example. Anyone that knows me knows I am typically the shortest, or one of the shortest, in the bunch. And if you don’t know that, then hi! I’m Melissa and welcome to my blog. I always wanted to be taller. Why? Because tall people play basketball. Tall people can reach the top shelf without getting a ladder out of the closet. Tall people can hold themselves up. No one messes with tall people (that’s not true by the way). I used to let my height hinder me, but I don’t anymore. I really owe it to a former colleague that once said “Melissa, I’m not getting things down for you anymore. Figure it out.” One might think she was being mean, but honestly if you heard the rest of the conversation you would realize she was helping me. She encouraged me to not let my height be a hinderance. Now there really are some things I can’t do because I am shorter than most, but my height does not define me. Several years ago I was asking the Lord about my height. I didn’t understand why I was so much shorter than my peers and why my brother was so much taller. I really felt like the Lord said “I made you just the way you are for a purpose, your height is perfect.” Now I’m not saying short people are perfect and tall people are not. I am saying that we are all made different, yet we are all perfect because God made us. He made us just the way we are for a reason. Just like God made me short for a purpose, he made my brother tall for a purpose. What’s Alex’s purpose? Getting stuff off the top shelf for me, of course! I’m just kidding. In all seriousness, my height doesn’t define me, just like my brother’s height doesn’t define him. We are both perfect because God made us both. Think about it, if we were all the same life would be very boring. And I’m not one to strive for a boring life.

I want to encourage everyone who reads my blog in this: You are not defined by what you have or don’t have. You are not defined by what you look like. You are not defined by the job you have. You are not defined by how much money you have or how big your house is. You are not defined by who likes you and who doesn’t. You are not defined by how tall you are or how short you are. You ARE defined by the Lord. Have you ever thought about how God sees you? I guarantee you, it will encourage you.

See, God says “you are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14. God says you are “precious and honored in my sight.” Isaiah 43:4. God says “you are loved.” 1 John 4:19. God says “you are my child.” 1 John 3:1. God says “you are chosen.” 1 Peter 2:9. God says “you are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14. God says “you are my friend.” John 15:15. God says “you are righteous.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. God says you are “more than conquerors.” Romans 8:37.

I hope you will see your value the way God sees you. Let me encourage you in this. You are worth more than the job you hold. You are worth more than your financial status. You are worth more than the friends you have. You are worth more than the car you own. You are worth more than the house you live in. You are worth more than the skills you hold. You are worth so much more than what you can or can’t do. You are worth more than all of that stuff. You are worth so much that Jesus paid the ultimate price (his life) for you. And if you don’t believe anything else that I am saying in this post, believe this….. YOU ARE WORTH IT because God says you are worth it. So, what is your value? Ask Jesus. Look at God’s word. And I can assure you, you will see your value the way you are supposed to see it. God Bless.