Hope Prevails

by Dr. Michelle Bengtson

  Do you know what God says about you? Your identity has to be found in Christ alone. Here are just some of the things he says about you:

  You are beautiful. “Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord” (Ps. 45:11).

  You are an overcomer. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom. 8:37).

  You are a masterpiece and are destined for greatness. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Eph. 2:10 NLT).

  You are forever loved. “The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness’” (Jer. 31:3).

  You are wonderful. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Ps. 139:14).

  You are worth it. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NLT).

  What are you dealing with today? We all have things about ourselves that we deem ugly, flawed, or imperfect. What have you been trying to hide from the rest of the world? What lies has the enemy whispered to you that you’ve believed? What is it about yourself that you think doesn’t measure up?

  your marital status?

  your health?

  your financial situation?

  Those are just circumstantial facts. But here’s what God’s truth says about the real you:

  When he created you, it was good.

  He has a plan for you, and it is for good. It is to prosper you and not to harm you. It is for a future and a hope.

  He who began a good work in you will see it through to completion!

  Your Rx

  Think about your life. Where have you allowed the perceptions of others or the lies of the enemy to dictate your identity? Now counter that with the truth of God’s Word. What does he say about you?

  Pray and ask God to help you have a true understanding of what he thinks about you and then to help you adopt his view of you for yourself.

  To really appreciate that your identity is rooted not in what you do or who you are but rather in whose you are, reflect on these verses: Song of Solomon 6:3; John 1:12; 15:16; Romans 8:14–15, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 4:6–7; Ephesians 1:5; 1 John 5:18.

  Look up the following verses: Psalms 45:11; 139:14; Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 8:37; Ephesians 2:10. Write them on index cards and place them where you will see them frequently. Read each of these passages aloud three times daily, committing them to memory.

  My Prayer for You

  Father, knowing our identity in you is crucial for us to walk in the authority you’ve given to us in Jesus. It’s my prayer that your Holy Spirit will take the blinders off the eyes and ears of this dear one so that they receive a fresh revelation and hear your voice as you reveal what you think of them. And then, Father, I pray that you will seal them from the lies of the enemy, who seeks to destroy our identity, and replace their own view of themselves with the truth of your perfect and loving perspective. This dear one bears your resemblance, and you delight in that, as any proud father does. Help them to delight in that truth as well. Thank you for the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, through which you see us as righteous and holy. In Jesus’s name, amen.

  Recommended Playlist

  “Don’t Give Up on Me,” MercyMe, © 2012 by Fair Trade/Columbia

  “He Knows My Name,” Francesca Battistelli, © 2014 by Word Entertainment LLC

  “Listen to the Sound,” Building 429, © 2011 by Essential Records

  “Free to Be Me,” Francesca Battistelli, © 2008 by Word Entertainment LLC

  “Any Other Way,” Tenth Avenue North, © 2010 by Reunion Records

  “Strong in Us,” Bethel and Brian Johnson, © 2014 by Bethel Music

  “Freedom,” Bethel and William Matthews, © 2014 by Bethel Music

  “True Beauty,” Mandisa, © 2007 by Sparrow Records

  “Flawless,” MercyMe, © 2014 by Fair Trade/Columbia

  “Sons and Daughters,” John Waller, © 2014 by Label Me Not

  8

  Know Your Worth

  But now, this is what the LORD says . . .

  “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

  I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

  Isaiah 43:1

  What we know matters but who we are matters more.

  Brené Brown

  Depression doesn’t define our worth. An undeniable truth exists: God is 100 percent for us. Satan knows this but, because he is 100 percent against us, he works hard to make us doubt this truth or at the very least distract us from living out of the victory this truth provides. When we don’t appreciate our worth in Christ, many of our thoughts, attitudes, and actions run adrift, and depression has an open door to enter.

  Today the temptation exists to equate our worth with external factors. We might measure our worth by our financial situation, relationship status, education, or title at work. But regardless of anything external that we have, do, or earn, God delights in us as his masterpiece: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Eph. 2:10 NLT).

  Tragically, we allow the words, attitudes, or actions of others to influence how we feel about ourselves. This tendency begins in childhood when we come into agreement with parents, teachers, coaches, or other influential adults in our lives who make statements about us that do not agree with what God says about us. Have you ever known a teacher who singled out a child with a comment like, “What are you, stupid?” or “You’ll never amount to anything.” Or a coach who uses one child as a negative example to motivate the rest of the team by calling the child lazy?

  Maybe you were the recipient of such comments. Those statements can not only wound a heart but also potentially open the door to a life of believing the enemy’s lies about our worth. God’s truth says, “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:21 NLT). Other translations say, so we could “become the righteousness of God.”

  If we do not have a firm grasp of our God-given worth, life incidents can perpetuate the belief that we have to behave or think a certain way to earn our value or gain acceptance. Sometimes we agree to commitments, fearing that if we don’t, we will not be accepted or valued. The difficulty lies in the fact that we can never please all people. The only one who offers complete, unconditional acceptance is God. Too often we place the emphasis on pleasing people while underappreciating God’s complete acceptance.

  We Are Highly Valued

  Would you agree that the price paid for an object establishes its value? If that is true, then you must agree that you have infinite worth because Christ paid the price of his life when he died on the cross to save us. Too often we base our worth on what others say about us, including the father of lies. The only one who has any authority to speak about our worth is Jesus. Since he found us worthy of giving up his life for us when he died on the cross, that tells us just how valuable and worthy he deems us.

  John 3:16 is one of the most quoted Scripture passages, yet we so often miss a crucial nugget of truth it contains. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God deemed you worthy. He valued you so much that he sent his only Son to die so that when you believed in him you would receive eternal life with him. If you were the only one living, God would have done that just for you because he found you worthy.

  The enemy doesn’t want us to fully appreciate what transpired when Christ gave up his life for us on the cross because then we would know with every fiber of our being that the enemy has already lost. Our enemy desires for us either to remain unaware of his work in our lives or to fear him. Our fear of
him enhances his power. But every fear is based on a lie. God did not give us the spirit of fear—that comes from our enemy. God gave us power, love, and a sound mind (see 2 Tim. 1:7).

  Once we grasp the enormity of the exchange that took place on the cross, we have access to freedom. Christ exchanged our sin and shame for his perfection, our death for his life, and our bondage for his freedom. “So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free” (John 8:36 NLT). Too often we continue to live in bondage, like in depression, when our ransom has already been paid by the greatest sacrifice in history. Friend, it’s time to accept this sacrificial gift, know you are no longer an imprisoned slave but a freed person, and kick the enemy to the curb.

  When we focus on how much God loves us and the cost he endured to redeem us, then we can appreciate how God sees us. Then we can understand our inherent worth as children of the Most High God.

  God Calls Us His

  Our internal dialogue about our worthlessness is a lie of the enemy. It’s also in direct opposition to what the Word of God tells us in 1 John 4:4: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” Just by virtue of having Christ living inside of us, we are not only worthy but also overcomers who are greater than our enemy, who prowls the earth seeking those whom he can steal, kill, and destroy.

  In a depressed state, you may not feel treasured, or even acceptable, but you are. While I’m not asking you to deny your feelings, I’m asking you to choose to believe the truth of God’s Word over your feelings. In Ephesians 1:6, Paul says that all of us who believe in Christ have been “accepted in the beloved” (KJV).

  In our daily lives, we place high priority on things of importance to us and commit them to memory. We record information that we don’t want to forget—phone numbers, grocery lists, appointment times. God did the same thing. You are so valuable to him, of such importance to him, that you are tattooed on his hands: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49:16). That should give you great confidence and affirm your worth. That tattoo isn’t going anywhere—he is being constantly reminded of you. Whenever you doubt your worth, remember that you are permanently tattooed on the palms of his hands.

  Comparison steals our joy. In the darkness of depression, we are more susceptible to comparing ourselves to others. We judge our worth or our value against what we perceive others’ to be. As a result, we often feel less important, less loved, or less worthy than our nondepressed counterparts, which then makes us feel even more depressed.

  Our enemy waits for the moment we are most vulnerable and then tries to convince us we are “less than” those we admire. Have you ever had thoughts like “Maybe I wasn’t asked to be on the committee because I’m not as smart as he is.” Or “I’ll never be as pretty as she is.” Friend, those are not your thoughts. Those are lies of the enemy meant to weigh you down and distract you from what God’s truth says about you.

  God says, “You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God” (Isa. 62:3). He loves you so much. Did you know you have stolen his heart? “You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace” (Song of Sol. 4:9). He loves you and values you so highly that he wants to spend time with you. “My beloved spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me’” (Song of Sol. 2:10).

  The physical effects of depression can deplete both our energy and our motivation. If we equate our worth with our accomplishments, our perception of our worth then plummets. It’s crucial to separate our worth from our performance. Remember that we are completely loved, accepted, and valued by God regardless of our job, our income, our church service, or our emotional state. Depression does not define our worth. God does.

  Sometimes I have to remind myself of the parent-child relationship. From the moment I knew I was pregnant, I called the baby mine. After his birth, I named him. Why? Because giving someone a name shows they are valued. We even do the same with pets; we name our pets because we love them and value them. Because God values us and finds us worthy, he has done the same for us. He named us and called us his: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine” (Isa. 43:1 NLT).

  We Are Sons and Daughters

  One of the greatest turning points in my faith journey was when a dear woman began to teach me about my identity in Christ. I was accustomed to praying to God and referring to him in my prayers as God, Lord, or even heavenly Father. It hadn’t fully penetrated my understanding that if he was my heavenly father, then by default I was his daughter. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God, heirs with Christ: “Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir” (Gal. 4:7 NLT).

  As a little girl, I occasionally accompanied my father to his office on Saturday. An executive for a company, he sometimes visited the office on the weekend to prepare for Monday meetings or travel the following week. I tagged along and busied myself playing secretary at his receptionist’s desk. I delighted in typing up memos and sweet notes for his receptionist to find on Monday. I also enjoyed tinkering with her typewriter, messing with her margins, enabling all caps, and the like, giggling at the image of her finding evidence of my weekend visit when she clocked in on Monday morning. I knew she wouldn’t get mad at me. Why? I was the boss’s daughter, and that validated me. In the same way, God validates our worth as his sons and daughters.

  When a baby is born, new parents experience an overwhelming flood of love for their child. After I had my first child, a deep love for my baby overtook me and caught me unaware. I didn’t know such a deep, unconditional love was possible. My child did nothing to earn my love. He did nothing but eat, sleep, and dirty diapers. He didn’t earn my love; all he had to do was receive it. Yet nothing could diminish my love for him—I gave it freely.

  Likewise, God doesn’t value us because of what we do but because of whose we are—his children. “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NLT). Merely as a result of being his children, we are recipients of “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3 NASB). There is nothing we can do to be more loved or more valued in God’s eyes. When he looks at us, he sees his perfection reflected in us. Our worth is not determined by anything we do or earn; it’s given to us by God.

  I remember hearing an illustration that so clearly helped me appreciate my worth in God’s eyes. A pastor was preaching at a conference when, much to the audience’s delight, he pulled out his wallet. From his wallet, he took a $100 bill. He held it high and waved it for the audience to see before asking, “Who would like this $100 bill?” Hands rapidly waved in the air, and shouts of anticipation flew across the auditorium. He then took the bill in his fist and crumpled it tight before asking, “Now who wants it?” Undeterred, audience members vied for his generosity. Curiously, he then took the crumpled bill, placed it on the floor, ground it into the floor with his shoe, and asked, “Does anyone want this wrinkled, dirty bill?” Most were still willing.

  As he placed the tattered bill on the podium, he explained his point. Most of us operate from the belief that we are useful to God only when we are perfect and unblemished. But the trials and mistakes of life leave us feeling tattered and unlovely, unsuitable for use by a holy God. Yet our mistakes, quirks, and weaknesses can’t diminish our worth any more than crumpling and stepping on a $100 bill can diminish its value.

  The enemy can attempt to steal our joy, kill our peace, and destroy our identity, but in God’s sovereign love for us, he will allow neither depression nor the enemy of our souls to diminish our worth in his eyes. God not only prevents the enemy from affecting our eternal worth but also one-ups our enemy when he uses what the enemy intended for our harm to accomplish good. “You intended to harm me, but God i
ntended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Gen. 50:20 NLT).

  God did not cause us to experience depression. Nor does he allow depression to define our worth. The enemy of our souls seeks to keep us depressed, lacking in joy and peace and unsure of our identity. But God has promised that he will bring good out of our situation and will turn our ashes into something beautiful.

  Your Rx

  Think about your life. What lies have you believed about your worth? Take them to God in prayer, and ask him to reveal to you the truth about how he values you.

  Write down the things you value most in your life. Maybe possessions, awards, relationships. Ask yourself, “Would I be willing to die because I love them so much?” Reflect on how valuable God thinks you are that he was willing for his Son to die just for you to live. Take your gratitude to him in prayer.

  Look up the following verses: Isaiah 43:1; 49:16; John 8:36; Galatians 4:7. Then write them on index cards and place them where you will see them frequently. Read each of these passages aloud three times daily, committing them to memory.

  My Prayer for You

  Father, what a privilege it is to pray for this dear one who you highly favor and call by name. Society tells us that our worth goes up and down like a barometer based on what we do or who we are. I pray that you will give this precious child of yours a fresh revelation that their worth comes solely from whose they are. They are your child, ransomed with the great price of the death of your Son Jesus on a cross. Let there never be any more question of this one’s worth or value. Just as you have written their name on the palms of your hands, I ask that you engrave their worth in their heart so that they will walk with their head held high, knowing they have been declared worthy by you—the only one whose opinion matters. In Jesus’s name, amen.