You Are Valuable
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18
Don’t discount yourself or sell yourself short. Shut down the internal dialogue saying you’ll never be enough, God won’t use you, you’re too full of sin!! I’d like to reassure none of this is true. Let me remind you, Jesus made you enough when he died for you on the cross.
For you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:20
But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Let’s look at the disciples. The 12 men Jesus chose to teach, who ultimately, went on to teach others what Jesus had taught them. Not one of them was a religious leader. There was fisherman, a tax collector, a zealot and even a thief! And I don’t think one of them was a 100% honest all the time, do you? None of them wielded any influence in religious circles or as businessmen. Honestly, they were a rag tag bunch of misfits! Yet Jesus chose them. He chose to teach them, love them, he even re-named them, travelled with them, ate with them, joked with them, prayed with them, did miracles with them and ultimately died for them.
Knowing all that why won’t you believe there is room for you to be used by Christ? Think about it. What better way for people to want to know God than seeing the change in those who were of questionable character before giving their lives to Christ.
Most of us come from humble beginnings, all of us have sinned. None, no not-a-one of us has any reason to brag or believe we’ve arrived. We all have work to do and progress to still make. There’s never a time when we should feel we’ve done enough, learned enough, given enough, loved enough. Not until we’ve made it to Heaven. While we are still here on earth, we have work to do, we have stories to share and souls to collect. Our job, our mission is to leave no soul behind.
We cannot achieve that if we believe we aren’t enough that God can’t use us. Wake up! That’s a lie of the enemy. He whispers that rubbish in your ear because there’s nothing he loves more than a Christian sitting on the sidelines to scared to fulfill their purpose. Stop listening to his lies and start listening to what God says about you. Start today. Pick up your Bible and believe it’s a love letter written specifically to you.
What we believe today we build on tomorrow. Do you want to believe lies of the devil and this world or the truth of God? Choose truth because the truth sets you free. Lies just keep you in bondage.
So, Jesus spoke to the Judaeans who had believed in him. ‘If you remain in my word,’ he said, ‘you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ John 8:31-32
So go on. Break those chains. Shame the devil and live in Gods truth. Share your truth with whoever needs to hear it. Set yourself free and them too! Shut that devil up…...
If the twelve disciples aren’t enough to convince you let’s look at a few other men and women of the Bible God used to change nations, change minds, change lives. And reach people.
Moses had a stutter and murdered an Egyptian
Abraham was disobedient and tried to get ahead of Gods plan
Rahab was a prostitute
Saul (later known as Paul) persecuted and murdered Christians
Jonah was disobedient and prejudice
Naomi was a widow
Gideon was a scaredy cat
David was an adulterer and a murderer
The Samaritan woman had been married and divorced 5 times and was living with a man who wasn’t her husband
Samson had long hair
Even baby Jesus at first glance, born into a humble life, would seem most unlikely to grow up to become the Messiah the One who saves us all.
You are capable and worthy and chosen to do great things for God. Don’t let anyone say otherwise, especially your inner voice. Speak words of affirmation and life over yourself. Don’t let others deter you or tinkle on your dreams. Sometimes our good friends and family members are well intentioned and think they are helping when they ask if we are sure its God, but they’re not. When God believes in you, you should believe in yourself too. If you know God said do it…...DO IT, without delay! He will give you all you need to succeed as you step out in faith.
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Ultimately, we listen to people who share things in common with us. Stop discounting yourself. Use your quirkiness, your past mistakes, even your thorn to reach those who can identify with you. Those who can trust you when they can’t trust anyone else. Use what you know, what you’ve experienced to help others understand God isn’t looking for perfection, just people. As you encourage others you will soon find God is qualifying you as you move in his purpose.