How many of us have struggled with our self worth? Since I can’t get a show of hands, I’ll answer for you; all of us. Last night our family had a movie night. We watched Frozen (I mean, how could you not? It was released on DVD yesterday!), sang our hearts out as if we were in the cast, all whilst eating ice cream and tons of popcorn. All of that was fun, but the moment that got me was after the credits had already begun to roll. Paul swept Finley up into his arms and danced with her… He danced with her like they were the only two people in the room. She giggled with delight as her handsome prince swayed to the music, kissing her and holding her tight. This is one girl that will always know her worth.
Maybe for you, growing up things were less then perfect and this image strikes a cord in your heart that brings pain. The truth is, things are less then perfect in our house, but our kids know that they are loved.
Love is the framework that we live our lives in. It’s what we surround our kids with, so that they know even if they screw it all up, or if we as their parents screw it all up, our lives still fall in the framework of love to be mended and put back together. Love is our motivator, love compels us to forgive one another, it brings understanding and compassion to each other. It brings about miracles… And ultimately love connects us to God, because God is love.
I wonder what framework you live your life in? Is it love, or is it fear? Is it hatred or shame? Is it self doubt, or pity? Or is it striving and laboring for your worth? Maybe you find yourself grasping for your worth in what others say about you, or to you, about your accomplishments or achievements? I tell you what, you will wear yourself out striving for the rest of your life if you can’t just find rest in God’s love.
His love is readily available to heal you, restore you, deliver you, save and rescue you, and make you whole. His love is here right now waiting for you to let go of your own ways and find yourself in His. His love is relentless, unswerving, uninhibited… His love is after you.
His love is so un-relenting that He wasn’t content to sit on His throne in heaven and watch you be tortured by the enemy. He had a battle plan that would destroy the works of the devil. He put skin on and became like us.
John 1:14 ESV14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And the Message version puts it this way:
John 1:14 MESSAGE“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.”
We’ve got to try to wrap our mind around the fact that Jesus left his heavenly throne to become like one of us. God in flesh. He was born into adversity and trial in the wilderness because his parents were rejected for lack of room at the inn. Life was not easy for Him, and it didn’t start out easy. It wasn’t the cushy life of a king as many would suppose for the savior of the world. The first place He was to lay down his head was a manger full of straw… a place where animals came to eat their food. It wasn’t a sterile, clean immaculate environment fit for a king… it was full of sheep’s dung and dirt… He bowed low and humbled himself to become human, to be like one of us… The word became flesh and dwelt among us… He understands us: He felt the pain of loss when his friend Lazarus died, He actually wept in the moment He stood outside his friends tomb. He celebrated at feasts, hung out with the rich and the poor, the sinners and saints. He was tempted and He overcame. He felt rejection as one of his closest friends, turned on Him. He felt grief as He prayed in the garden asking God if there was another way to save all of humanity, yet still went through with it and suffered pain on the cross for the joy that was set before Him… Us. He was fully human and fully God.
He completely understands you, feels you, gets you, knows your struggles, trials and pain… Will you let Him in?
Amy Carmichael said – “There is no need to plead that the love of God shall fill our hearts as though He were unwilling to fill us… Love is pressing around us on all sides like air. Cease to resist it and instantly love takes possession.”
He is willing… He is waiting.
The truth is Jesus love for you is un-relenting now matter how you feel, what you do, or where you go. You are the object of His love, the apple of His eye, the joy that was set before Him. You are the reason He lived, died and rose again. His love is on the move…
Just like this picture, God wants to heal you, pick you up in His arms, spin you around and tell you how much He loves you. It is already finished in His mind, He only waits for you to reach out and say you want it.
Cease to resist His love… And watch it take possession of your heart.
You’re worth it.