To the One Who Feels Unworthy
The apostle John calls himself “the one whom Jesus loved.” Some people view this as arrogance, but the reality is that John understood what many struggle so desperately to believe— he understood who he was in light of Jesus and he lived his life from that Truth. John IS the one who Jesus loves and so are you.
The problem is that what God sees in you is not what you feel on the inside. Inwardly, you feel defined by the failures and mistakes of not only yourself, but also of others around you. You’ve come to believe that you’re unloved, unworthy, abandoned, overemotional, unforgivable, that you have no purpose— and the list goes on. These lies have become internalized so deeply that you have lived your life as if they were true. But Jesus will speak truth and life over the lies. He will show you how to live from your true identity. You are the one who is valued by the Most High. You are the one who is wanted, cherished, and valued by the God who intricately created you. You are the one who God has gifted and given a purpose.
Jesus doesn’t say “you really should be stronger or you should have learned to be fearless by now.” Instead He speaks life— He says “in Me You are strong, with Me you are fearless, because of Me you are chosen, forgiven and valuable.”
It is important to understand that none of this is accomplished by our own doing. It is accomplished through Christ. Even if you don’t originally feel it or believe it wholeheartedly, Jesus will lead you to the truth. The important part is to just keep coming back to Jesus. Keep basking in the truth of who God says you are. Keep abiding in the One who speaks life. One day, you will look back on your life and see how God dug up the lies the world had planted and replaced them with His truth— that the road you walked marked “identity” is no longer defined by overgrown thorns and dead foliage, but instead by the life bursting forth—by the softness of the purple petals between your fingers, by the tiny chipmunk running between the lush green trees, by the soft breeze that ushers in the sweet scent of the wildflowers. And it will remind you that your identity is not found in the world’s definition of worth. It is found in the One who created You.
