You're Special

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.  James 1:17-18

Do you ever question what God sees in you?  I do.  There are days where I feel lost and tired, and my connection with Him seems way off. My confidence is shaken, and nothing seems to fit together.  This does not occur often, but it has occurred as of late.  On those rare occasions, dark thoughts of the person I once was pop in.  Usually it is after I have not quite met either my own expectation or that of God.  “I am not worthy of the grace I’ve been given,” I will say to myself in my head.  The funny thing is it that even when I myself may feel low, God sees me as valued and worthy.  I think of Psalm 139:17 where it says, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered.”  It is finding that value in God (i.e. those precious thoughts) that I find my own worth.  I am not perfect, but as one of my favorite sermons once said, “It’s not who you are.  It’s whose you are.”  He thought enough to watch over me until the day I would acknowledge who He is.  When I think about that, I feel special, and the confidence and connections all come back!

When we lose sight of our worthiness, we must remember we are God’s prized possession.  God made us these amazing individuals.  Some might say we are the same ‘in Christ.’  That is true, but not in the sense you might think.  We are uniquely made with our distinct experiences that through fellowship expand knowledge beyond our own singular understanding of God, and yet we all are part of His Kingdom.  As such, some of us may not feel righteous because of our own shame or someone else’s questioning of us.  For me, I might venture into the valley feeling conceited or ambitious.  However, I think of Jesus’ greatest commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39b)  It is a reminder that has become my guiding light.  It humbles me to remember If I treat those around me as well as I treat myself, I am indeed doing as God would ask of me.  Thus, it is important to realize that we too are important, and we should indeed remember to love ourselves.  It is that love I have for myself that pushes me to love others even more.

God sees the best in all of us.  Think of when Jesus was baptized, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”” (Matthew 3:17)  There are many things that can get us down.  However, we should always feel good knowing that we serve an amazing God who loves us unconditionally.  Do not doubt this.  Move forward both boldly and with confidence that you are indeed a great wonder as He always intended.  Where are there doubts about yourself today?  How can you replace your worthlessness with God’s worthiness?  My prayer is that we can know that to God we are indeed ‘special.’  Amen.