I was doing a self affirmation exercise with a group of people several months ago. In the exercise, the people are to think of a quality that they don’t posses but want to have, and then use present tense verbs to say they have it. One lady stood up and said, “I am enough.” In that moment, my heart broke. She believed she wasn’t enough and her actions in life were in line with that belief. When the group shouted back, “You are enough!”, her face lit up. For the first time in a while, she began to believe she was enough.
Many people live with feelings of inadequacy. They feel that they don’t measure up to the standards others have set for them. They put on a show for others to see, but inside, they’re dying. They do things to compensate for these insecurities hoping that it will give them worth in someone else’s eyes. They never feel like they will measure up, but they never stop trying to be the person others want them to be. All they want to be is enough so that they will be accepted.
If that describes how you feel, let me direct you to Psalm 139:14. It says, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well” (NASB). YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made. You were designed and created by God with a specific purpose in mind. His works are wonderful, not worthless. Since He made you, that means you are wonderful too, even when you don’t feel like it.
We know from I Samuel 16:7 that God doesn’t measure you by your outward appearance, but by your heart. He looks beyond your actions, through your walls and into your heart. He sees you for who you really are, and He still thinks you are wonderfully made. If you are struggling with your self worth, let me encourage you to say what that lady in my group said. I want to you to say, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am enough.” The more you say it, the more you will believe it. God has already said it to you and He believes it. Now it’s your turn to believe it and act on it. What God says about you is more real than what any person says.
Photo courtesy of Joram Jay Travilla Equipado
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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 