When we look around us, at the world, we’re asking this question.
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We’re asking: AM I WORTH
your time?
your gaze? your investment?
that grade? that job? that relationship?
that oppotrunity? that attention?
being loved?
AM I WORTH IT?
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It comes back to a core question of identity:
AM I WORTHY?
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I think the hard reality is (the depressing nature of this is!) … that we’re not. We never meet the expectations we place on ourselves, let alone those of others … not to mention God’s glorious standard! We are in this battle with worth ~ it’s a journey, it’s a stronghold in many of our lives. And I am guilty of this, because I look everywhere ELSE for a definition of who I am. But. As women of worth, we need to help each other, to encourage each other, to point each other to the Lord. At my local church, one way we do this is at our annual worship night.
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This year, the evening theme was:
“Women of Worth”
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This year we wanted to discuss what it means to find our worth in the Lamb – to look to the Lord as our treasure and to explore how it is that we are his treasure. It is a night for reflection and response, turning to glorify our great and gracious God – for he alone is trustworthy and praiseworthy.
The reason we explored this theme is because it is so easy to allow little lies to creep in, to allow the truth of who we are in Christ to be distorted by the allure of the world, by the worth we are “sold” …. that only returns empty. We had women address areas of worthiness, identity, purpose, pride, idols of control and self-reliance, relational contentment… and the vulnerability and faith of these sisters was inspiring … seeing them articulate so powerfully to other women what God has been teaching them.
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We read in Revelation 5:12:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing”
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How beautiful to return to Jesus, the perfect Lamb. Because of what Jesus has done for us, God looks at us and sees us as worthy to be called his children, worthy to share in the inheritance and hope of future glory that we have with Christ. But what does it mean for us to find our worth in him? In his death? In his life? In his resurrection power? In his light? In his love?
In the words of one of our speakers: “the Father who presented his Son as a sufficient sacrifice … spirit dwells within in us to bring him praise.”
We see here threads of thought that can be explored around worth and the interconnectedness of praise with worth.
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EXPLORE:
WORTH ←→ PRAISE
2 Samuel 22:4, Psalm 18:3
Psalm 145:3
1 Chronicles 16:35, Psalm 96:4
Psalm 48:1
Revelation 4:11
Jonah 2:8-9
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The pursuit:
US→IDOLS =WORTHLESS
US → GOD = PRAISEWORTHY
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When we worship, when we sing, when we pray – this is how our hearts can respond to him, for he is so worthy of our praise and trust.
An how perfect and pleasing is Jesus ?!?
We actually see God the Father bestow worth on his Beloved Son in Luke 3:22 – “…and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son, in you I am well-pleased’”
How amazing that just as the Father bestows worth on his Son, speaking to him the truth about who he is, that we too are his children – who can hear from him the truth about ourselves. This is a truth that he spoke powerfully and clearly on the night. And in his beautiful, majestic way, he wove this through the testimonies of his own accord (threes speakers shared the same verse without know the others were sharing it … not unlike what happened a few years ago: read that story in Friday 23: Psalm 23!)
1 John 3:1: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called chidren of God, and so we are.”
I am so struck by this confidence that we can have in Christ. This love and acceptance that is found in him and him alone. It is in Jesus’ blood that we discover the most radical worth there is. This is not a worth we seek out, strive for or obtain by our own strength. This is a worth we receive.
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EXPLORE:
WORTH ←→ CHRIST
Revelation 5:12
Philippians 2:8-11
Hebrews 9:24-28
Psalm 5:7-8
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
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But in all honesty, I find it so hard to swallow Jesus’ death. How can I reconcile that my worth comes from something that causes another suffering? We’re talking about a blood offering … not a bouquet of flowers, not a box of chocolates … this was a cross … this was a grave!
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So what does it mean for us to find our worth in Jesus’ death?
“YOU ARE WORTH DYING FOR”
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What does that even mean? That is not some nice catch phrase … it is a gruesome yet graciously healing reality of what it means for us to find our worth in the Lamb who was slain. In order for us to be worthy, there is a cost. But God saw the cost and saw us …. and he was willing to pay!
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EXPLORE:
PRAISE ←→ CHRIST
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Because Jesus overcame death, we live in light of his resurrection, where death has no dominion, and there is greater power and worth in the name of Jesus, who is the way, truth and life! Hallelujah! The Lamb has overcome. A worthy sacrifice. A saviour who gives worth.
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SISTER
You are purchased at a price.
By Christ.
You are his prize.
He is your treasure. You are his treasure.
You are a beloved daughter.
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“Your crown has been bought and paid for. Put it on your head and wear it”
Maya Angelou
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Listen:
Father –
We want to know we are worthy. Worthy of love.
Worthy of acceptance – we want our worthiness, our worth, to come from you.
We ask that you would lead us on a journey of worthiness.
We don’t want to look for our worth in the things of this world.
We know that they cannot provide us with this worth.
Let our worth be found in you and you alone.
But Lord –
May this not be about our worth at all.
May this be about your worth.
Your worthiness.
Because you are worthy ...of all .
All that is your character is all that we long to be, and where we long to find worth.
So Jesus may we learn more of the weight of your worthiness.
We ask for you to continue to reveal this to us, in Jesus’ name
– Amen.
