Value

We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself...two extremes of poor I-sight are self-loving and self-loathing. We swing from one side to the other. Promotions and demotions bump us back and forth. One day too high on self, the next too hard on self. Neither is correct. Self-elevation and self-deprecation are equally inaccurate. Where is the truth? Smack-dab in the middle. Dead center between 'I can do anything' and 'I can't do anything' lies the truth: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13) ~Max Lucado



A friend of mine put this on her facebook today:
"Never say anything about yourself you do not want to come true." -Brian Tracy   
 Think of 12 positive things to say about who you are, where you are going, and the value you will bring.


Is that difficult for you to come up with those 12 things?  It is for me. I think we get knocked down so much by society/the world that we forget we have value, that we matter. We can get stuck living in our past, our failures, our insecurities, instead of starting each day out as a new opportunity to make a difference in our lives, and in others lives. We don't need to do this journey of life alone, or be stuck in sadness, or our insecurities. God gave us skills, talents, and abilities that He will help us to discover and put to great use, if we allow Him to help us.  He also gave us great victory through the cross of Christ, and we don't have to live in the lie that we don't matter to anyone, or that what we do/who we are doesn't matter, because it does!  It's true that if we are only doing things for a pat on the back, and a 'look how great I am' then we are doing things for the wrong reasons.  However, if we do things to help out others without expecting any recognition, we can find great joy in that life, especially if we are centered in Christ. 


All the bad that has happened to make us feel inferior, not valuable, can be overcome.  It's our choice if we live in the put downs, negativity, hurt, or if we move out of those to a life of victory, a life that makes a difference.  How do you want people to think of you, remember you?  Someone who wallowed in the things of life that knocked them down, or someone who overcame their past, their sorrow, their hurts, and helped others, lived life to the fullest, not wasting the gift of each day.  Christ suffered pain, betrayal, hurt, abandonment from His friends.  He dealt with every pain we have dealt with, but He did not let those pains and betrayals change Him, get Him in a pit of despair.  He chose to look to God for His true identity, not man.  He chose to let only what the Father wanted truly matter in His life.  We have the same choice. 


In Christ we can move out of our past into a meaningful present and a breathtaking future. ~Erwin Lutzer


Forget what happened long ago!  Don't think about the past. I am creating something new. There it is! Do you see it? Isaiah 43:18-19


Now, make your list of 12 things about yourself, hopefully through Christ, that say something positive about who you are, where you are going in life, and the value you bring to this world, to others.  Live life, because you do matter!