Worthy: Discovering the wholeness of who God says I am

It takes courage to develop and maintain self-worth. In essence, self-worth is the inherent understanding that we are worthy of being loved.

Believing that we must be more to be loved more, or give more to be accepted more, is an unattainable fallacy. Not only is this a flawed belief system but it’s also a revelation that our self-worth needs work.

What we really need to believe and apply in our daily lives is the knowledge that God says we are more than enough and that our worthiness is grounded in Him. What keeps us rooted during life’s challenges is our belief that He loved us first, unconditionally, and we witness and experience His love through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

For six years I was the primary caregiver for my mom and my aunt in a geographical region that was unfamiliar to me as an adult, a place where I didn’t have friends and relatives were few.

Sometimes it takes the painful journey of parceling out parts of us and losing pieces of us to discover the whole of us. This was my story.

For more than five decades before that, I was searching for truth. Because my beginnings were marred by secrets, lies, shame, and judgment, my sojourn for belonging—for being accepted and loved by many of my family members—proved to be one of the most painful yet purpose-driven experiences of my life.

As a survivor of near-death brutality, I would have never believed that I would one day fear my own family. But I did. In my quest to be accepted, I was rejected. In my desire to be loved, I was hated. I sold my self-worth to be deemed worthy. But then I learned some priceless life lessons.

As human beings, we are all in need of healing. Many times, when we are fractured, we will attempt to shatter the lives of others. But only God determines our self-worth. Our self-worth is not to be compromised or devalued. Those closest to us cannot give what they do not have within.

To love well, we must believe, receive, and experience what we have already been freely given, the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. We are born to be brave and courageous. But we won’t know this until we confront our fears. When I confronted my fears, I began the journey of healing.

When we know our self-worth, we will own our undeniable truth, and when friends and family hurt us and fail us, when the world deems us unworthy, God’s truth stands: we are more than enough. And His Word is our daily reinforcement.

Scripture for meditation

“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13–14 (NIV)

Prompts for reflection and journaling

How would you describe your self-worth today?

What do you believe God thinks about you? Or what does you mind tell you He thinks about you?

What is one positive step you can take this week toward self acceptance and receiving more of God's love for you? It can be simple like learning a scripture about his love or talking to a trusted friend about it.

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