Know Who You Are - Value & Worth

I have watched so many of the people around me doubt their value and their worth.  This is one of my favorite examples of TRUE value and worth.

A speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill.
In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?
Hands started going up.
He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.”
He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.
He then asked, “Who still wants it?”
Still the hands were up in the air.
“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?”
And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.
Now who still wants it?”

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. Because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to Him. -Unknown Author

We beat ourselves up, saying that we are too fat, too ugly, too used, too troubled, too meek, too broken, too ANYTHING for us to have Value.  We fail to remember that our value and worth is NOT based on the things of this world.  God loves us.  He doesn't wait for us to be perfect, He loves us when we fail to take care of our bodies, He loves us when we are broken, He loves us when we succeed.  There is NOTHING we can do to EARN His love.  We have VALUE and WORTH to Him, no matter where we are in our walks.

Because we have this UNCONDITIONAL VALUE and WORTH, we should praise Him. Praise Him that we might be broken, but we still have HIM.  We might have abused our bodies, but we can still learn to care for our bodies as His temples.  We can still Honor Him with our lives, it's never too late to learn that your VALUE and WORTH is UNCONDITIONAL in the eyes of the ONE whose opinion counts. Don't focus on what is in your past, instead, choose daily to show God how grateful you are to be HIS.

Amber's Journey - A piece of my story

Third Day wrote a song that really hits home with me.  The words actually felt like they were telling my story.

Well, late one night, she started to cry and thought, "He ain't coming home"
She was tired of the lies, tired of the fight, but she didn't want to see him go
She fell on her knees and said, "I haven't prayed since I was young
But Lord above, I need a miracle."

I prayed so many prayers that sounded almost exactly like that during my marriage.  I prayed, but I didn't expect God to actually deliver.  God did deliver, a miracle I didn't expect.  I was released from my marriage.  I'm not going into details at this time, but I had Biblical grounds for divorce long before I was released from my marriage.  I am not an advocate of divorce, many people think that divorcees believe in divorce, but that's not necesarily true.  I'm an advocate for marriage.  I believe God intended for us to live life with a partner.  There are times and situations where I think God recognizes that we need to be set free, and sometimes that means from our marriage.  I have since learned that praying for a miracle, may not end with the miracle I wanted, or didn't dare expect. 

Well no matter who you are and no matter what you've done
There will come a time when you can't make it on your own
And in your hour of desperation
Know you're not the only one
Prayin', "Lord Above, I need a miracle
I need a miracle."

Remember, you NEVER, have to go the road alone.  No matter where you are or what you are going through, God is there. and He knows what you need better than you do.

*I do not own any rights to the song "I Need A Miracle" by Third Day.*