Think about it…!

You are precious!
Okay, okay, we have already heard that umpteen times…. But still I want to share some thoughts about it with you. It is theoretically clear to us and somewhat logical, but we still don’t really believe it. But if I learn to believe it deep inside or to accept it anew, then it changes my life! Absolutely and guaranteed!

There are truths that are worth thinking about deeply. An example of this can be found in the Gospel of Luke. There we read that when the shepherds tell about what they heard of the angels after the birth of Jesus, Mary deeply absorbs their words and thinks about them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Other translations: Mary remembered all these things… Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. Luke 2:19

She repeats them in her mind, moves them back and forth in her head, looks at them from all sides, perhaps even talks about them with Joseph, compares the words with her knowledge and her faith. She chews them, digests them, internalizes them, and never lets them go.

I think this internalizing is something we should also do with the truths of the Bible and especially with the statement: “You are valuable!”

It says in Isaiah 43:4…„Since you are precious to me, you are honored and I love you…“

Do you dare to feel valuable when the enemy argues in your head:
You? Do you really think so? You know that this is not true, because… Experience teaches you otherwise… This can’t be, this doesn’t feel right… This is arrogant, boastful, snobbish! What will people say about it? You will be criticized for it! Do you think you are better than others? The Bible says not to be proud, but to be humble…
Yes, the enemy in your head finds many arguments against you being valuable!

There are so many verses in the Bible that tell us that we are valuable and that God loves us. And yet we tend to believe what the enemy says, because that is what other people have taught us and in some cases still teach us. Who do I believe?

I would like to refute one argument, because it is persistent, especially in Christian circles: We should be humble. That is correct. But humility does not mean that I am not valuable! It is pure grace, it is a gift to be valuable! I can’t be arrogant about being valuable because I haven’t done anything for it. No, I really shouldn’t be arrogant, because my neighbor is just as valuable as I am. I am not better or worse, but just as valuable.

Imagine that God is looking at you favorably, proudly and lovingly. And then ask yourself the following questions:

What does the “I am valuable” in my heart do to me when I take it seriously?
How do I appear to others when I know that I am valuable (not better, but valuable)?
How do situations change when I act out of the knowledge that I am valuable? How do I behave? And what is the difference in my behavior when I do not feel valuable? Imagine individual current situations in your mind, and see how differently you will react.

What happens in you when, for example, a colleague ignores you or says hurtful words to you? If you don’t give yourself value, then it confirms your thinking and will send you even further into inferiority. Then you react either defensively or aggressively. If, on the other hand, you know that your value is given to you by God, then your colleague’s behavior doesn’t change that value, the situation doesn’t stress you, and you can ask yourself where this behavior comes from.

You may and should know that you are valuable. Let this sink in, ask yourself the questions above really seriously! Meditate on it, think about it, read the Bible with your value in mind, and ask God about it in your quiet time.

Do as Mary did:
…keep what you have heard in your heart, … remember these things… hold them dear… and ponder them in your heart…