31 Days :: Day 14 – Someone Worth Dying For

This Morning:

• Journal about your thoughts. Have you had any unexpected attacks on your mind this week?
• Ask God to clear your mind from all of the junk that may be going on inside. Ask Him to give you the strength to block out Satan’s attacks.

This evening I was cleaning out Katherine’s closet. You know.. the closet in the house where you put everything that you plan to do something with later, but you don’t know where you’re going to put it? That’s Katherine’s closet. My goal was to pull out the giant stack of kids’ papers and separate them into 3 separate bins. This is what I found in the process:

Needless to say, in my mind I went back to the day Jeffrey gave this to me. It made my heart melt and smile at the same time. As I really took in just how timely finding this was, I realized what this little piece of paper did for my self-esteem. I was the “best mommy in the world.”

How much does a compliment boost our self-esteem? What about getting a promotion? Or when our spouses surprise us just because they love us? How much does our self-esteem drop when we feel like we’re not living up to expectations? Or when we sense we are more of a nuisance to people than a help? Or when we feel like we’re not good enough anymore in our place of service? What about when we feel like our spouses are unhappy with who we are? All of these circumstances affect our self-esteem. Shifting sand.

Why is this? It’s all about whose eyes we see ourselves through. When we see ourselves through our own flawed eyes (or when we look through others’ flawed eyes), we get the wrong view. We get the view of ourselves that God destroyed when He gave Jesus to die on the cross… then to rise again… for us. He doesn’t want us to have that crucified view anymore. He has offered us a resurrected view. Listen to this song. Closely.

We are more than flesh and bone. We are really something beautiful! We are not just wandering souls that He doesn’t see and He doesn’t know. We are worth dying for… We’re worth it and we CAN’T earn it. The cross has proven that we’re sacred and blameless. And our lives have purpose.

I don’t know where you are today. Maybe you are just finding this study and you don’t know who this Jesus is. I invite you to read The Story and then send me an email. God wants you to find this kind of security in Him… You. Are. Worth. It.

Maybe you have been a believer your entire life, but you live on a self-esteem roller coaster, much like I do apart from completely trusting Christ. Do you see that He wants us to experience a richer life where He is our security? Where we don’t fear and we don’t feel inferior because we rest in the fact that our identity is in HIM. This is who we are in Christ:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. – 2 Corinthians 5:17

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. – Galatians 2:20

It’s a totally different mindset when we can see ourselves through His eyes. The fears and insecurities are gone. It’s a constant battle, but it’s one that’s actually already won.

So this week we’ve seen that if we see God as big enough, seek Him single-mindedly, and view ourselves through His eyes, our lives will truly be changed. That’s what I desire. How about you?

To Make You Think:

1. Are you truly able to see yourself as someone worth dying for?
2. What specific area(s) are insecurity struggles for you?
3. Do you habitually view yourself through others’ eyes? How does this affect your thinking?

Continuing on…  31 Days :: Day 15 – Reflection