Not of this world

I am struggling on a daily basis with the image of myself that people see. I want them to see someone beautiful, funny, fun to be around, etc. I want the approval of the people around me...I want them to see in me someone worth being spending time with. And while relationships with people are important, I know I shouldn't be seeking my self-worth from their ideas and opinions about me. I am made in God's image and He loves me just the way I am...that is what my self-worth needs to be based on. That is the only thing that matters.

Genesis 1:27 "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them..."

Psalm 139 talks about how God knows EVERYTHING about us...our innermost thoughts and our every move. Verses 13-14 state "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it."

How much time God put into forming me as a person! How amazingly coordinated are all of our organs and systems! God made me...he invested, and continues to invest, time in me...he knew exactly what I would look like before I was even thought of. I am beautiful in His eyes! What a comfort to know that He, the Lord of the Universe, the one who created the heavens and the Earth, thinks I have worth in this world! That is all I need in this life. He wants to spend time with me, even though He already knows everything about me...how many people can I say that about?

I pray that I would constantly be reminded that my self-worth lies in Christ, the one who created me in His image, and loves me for who I am in Him and nothing else. I pray that I will not seek self-worth and approval of this world in things of this world.

1 John 2:15-16 "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world."

I pray that I will not let the things of this world take hold of me. I pray that, while I use my talents and achievements to glorify the Kingdom, I will not let them define me and give me my self-worth. All of these things will disappear, but my God, my Savior, my King, will remain forever and I will one day give all of my worldy possessions up to worship Him for eternity!

Along these same lines, the thought comes to my mind...not only did God create ME in his image, he created every human being in His image. Every human, no matter of my opinion of them, is seen as marvelous and wonderful in God's eyes. I pray that God will allow me to view others as He sees them, not through my human eyes full of deceit and judgement.