I Am Valuable: Part II

       A person who knows his or her worth also understands that he or she is indeed a valuable person. There will always be someone to dismiss the work that God has given unto you to perform. In these situations, remember Who created you: God, not man or "the big bang theory". You are fearfully and wonderfully made [Psalm 139:14]. I must honestly admit that there were days when I have completely felt lost...as if I had literally lost a piece of who I was created to be. I allowed foolishness to consume me to the point of being totally infuriated with situations in my life. I was a mess during those times. But, God's hands are the strongest, greatest, and most caring hands that I have EVER encountered. He has a heart that holds the sweetest touch of love and forgiveness. I thank Him for reminding me of who I am in Him.

       Many of us have not embraced the fact that each and every person in this world has more to offer than just a mere title or monetary worth. Now, I want you to understand that I see nothing wrong with being called Professor John Doe or the fact that you may have 20 million dollars to your name...as long as you are in the will of God. I hate being out of the will of God and I know just how much of a "left turn at Albuquerque" was made once I looked up and saw the mess I had created. Thank God that we can learn from our foolishness and take on the righteousness of God. Following Him places things back into the correct perspective and we begin to feel our self-worth grow again. As I stated in another article, I am valuable to someone. I should treat myself as a valuable person on a daily basis, no matter what storms I have to face. When I feel as if I cannot make it, God displays His glorious strength and reminds me of His will being the right way. We were all created with a beautiful purpose in mind, not as diamonds to be put on blast like a "trophy" or for us to lay idle. We are better than that. We have great worth in God.

A Ray of Sunshine

       The darkest moments we face can sometimes be just the motivation we need to look towards God's face. The only way to get out is by pushing upward or forward. There is nothing like becoming entrapped in a cycle of foolishness, whether or not we are the sole cause. However, God's grace and mercy towards us is all of the push that we need. Can you think of a time when you felt hopeless, downtrodden, and lost? The skies in your life are as black as they can get and the rain continues to pour heavily. Not only that, but after the last storm has passed you look ahead and see yet another system of storms pushing in. This is nothing but a trick of the enemy to make us feel defeated and hopeless. But God...

       He is our rock and salvation every day. When we open our eyes and truly begin to focus on where God has brought us from, the storms ahead seem small. Many of them will indeed push on towards us; understand that there is no getting around those. However, God has a beautiful way of planting and helping us to root deeply such as a sycamore tree. In addition, He is the only person who can build us fiber-by-fiber like a strong palm tree which can take a beating from a storm, bend to no end, and still survive. Those darkest moments are not stronger than us. We have to remind ourselves of that and keep pressing on. God's face is like a ray of sunshine that we see in the distance and the more we press closer to Him, the brighter things become. Before we know it, daylight has taken over.

I Am Valuable

       I am valuable to someone. Thinking of this has been one of the many things in life that has kept me motivated. When I wake up in the morning and feel like I am going to face the greatest challenge in life, I have to remind myself that someone hand-selected me for a specific time and reason to endure and overcome that challenge. Most times, there are no cheerleaders in sight to help give that extra motivation, as I personally would wish for; however, God gives such a great glimmer of hope and encouragement that helps me to push over the obstacles in front of me. Now, I must admit that there were days that I felt defeated, but deep down in my heart I knew that I would be fine if I continued to hold on to the promises and strength of God's Word. Still, in those very moments when the "OMG" happened, the mind did not automatically think of "aww, it'll be fine". Instead, it initially went more like this: "Why me, Lord?", "What have I done wrong?", or "I know this is not my fault but I feel like I should take the blame".

       One of the main things that I tell people nowadays is that I will be 100% genuine with them because I am not growing backwards, but I am growing older and forward. Things that I used to be afraid to deal with have either been handled or will be handled. There is no more thinking that I am not good enough when I am fully aware that God has a heart like "the size of Texas" for me, and I am stronger than before. Yes, I am valuable to someone. In addition, I thank God for people like my parents who conceived me out of love, raised me with love as a child, and continuously encourage me with love on a monthly basis as an adult. My pastor and his lovely wife has always been there for me to remind me of God's timing and faithfulness to be infallible. I am valuable to someone. That is what I have been stating repeatedly to myself because I know my worth. :)

       Recently, I conversed with a young woman on the issues of life, politics, careers, family, and self-worth. Once we arrived to the issues of a person's self-worth, the discussion of how she views me eventually arose because I could hear her skirting around the words that she really wanted to convey. Instead of a long, drawn out conversation to arrive at what was needing to be released, I simply cut to the chase and asked the million-dollar question to help her arrive there: "When you look at me, what do you see?" Her response was a few babbling words that made no sense for a split moment. Then I repeated the question with ease, and received this response from her: "Defeated". To most, this would have been a crushing word. I realized that the young woman was looking for me to produce a tangible asset that would spell the word s-u-c-c-e-s-s and make things clearer for her to cope with. Not only that, she expected a certain type of tangible asset that she could not necessarily see at the time of the conversation. My Father created me with many intangible assets that can only be recognized through the Spirit of God. Once spoken into existence, these assets are made manifest. At that particular time, then are people able to see the tangible asset, (or worth), of something. In other words, you cannot build a successful business, house, or financial stability in one day. This is the portion of life that many (including myself at one point) have had difficulty understanding. Our society has trained people to "snatch success within a short period of time", and if one is not able to keep up with every other business mogul, then he or she is viewed as "defeated". But this is not the true case.

       The time and effort that a person places into building is what will prepare him or her for a longer period of stability, and this cannot be rushed by any means. God will take us individually on various journeys that can only be understood by Him, yourself, and maybe a few others whom God has specifically placed there in your life as an encourager. Anyone and anything else that cannot see the vision that God has given to you is a hinderance. The timing of the success that God wants you to achieve and their timing will always be different. So, the next time someone expresses to you that you are "defeated", "beat down", or "moving too slowly", remind yourself that your value and success does not depend upon a clock, but rather what God thinks of you. Eventually, you'll begin to see yourself as God truly sees you: VALUABLE.


Readers' Input: Please take the time to add your comments/thoughts, challenges you have endured, and how you overcame those obstacles. I would love to see the work that God has done and is doing in your lives. Be encouraged.