Know Your Worth
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:37 (NKJV)

One of my little brothers in the ministry, Steve, lost his uncle and soon after discovered that his uncle had bequeathed to him a valuable assortment of very high-end timepieces. Because Steve was not into them at the time, he had no idea of their individual or collective worth.

But one day, Steve took one of those rare timepieces to be repaired and he mentioned to the repair person one of the other watches he had at home. He talked about it in a way that let the repair person know that Steve was severely underestimating what he had in his possession. When the repair person discovered how many valuable watches had been given to Steve, he told him that he needed to change his mindset. He gave Steve advice to protect and care for the watches: get a safe, store what you don't wear, have them professionally appraised, get them tuned up, only wear certain pieces for casual outings, learn what is appropriate to wear for certain situations, etc.

It wasn’t long before Steve’s arm began making different movements, so that you couldn’t help but notice his watch. His demeanor changed when he had his valuable watches on. He had to subtly let you know that he knew what he was wearing. We laughed because his wardrobe was soon upgraded to match his watches. He made sure that you understood that he was wearing something valuable.

Friend, you are like God’s cherished timepiece—of immense value. Once you understand how much value you hold in God’s eyes, when you look in the mirror (no matter what circumstances you are facing), you cannot see anything less than “more than a conqueror.” When you understand how much worth you carry in the mind of God, you can't have an anemic outlook on your life. You can’t settle for less than living in God's imaginative purposes for you. You can't go around comparing yourself to other people and feel like you come up short. Not when you know how much value Jesus has placed on your life.

And here’s the thing about out our gracious God: every day He wants to show you off and let the world know what a miracle really looks like. Don’t live like He’s ashamed of you; live in the light of the knowledge of just how precious you are to Him.