Remembering Your Worth in Life's Crappy Moments

The story of Easter brings many messages and applications when you dive deep into the actual events of the days leading up to Christianity’s main event.  One such message hit me last night on Good Friday.  I was watching the Good Friday live stream of Mosaic from the comfort of my living room and a line jumped out at me: “Jesus was still the victor while He was suffering”.

In our society to suffer is often times looked at as a punishment or as an attribute to the life of one ill equipped or in other words… a loser.  If you are winning at life then you are happy, have everything you want and are in optimal health, right?  Those of us that have been around a bit know that suffering is a natural part of life.  At some point, we are going to go through a season that we don’t want to be in whether it is a job where we are belittled everyday, a family member that tries to constantly sabotage our efforts or a health condition that changes our daily living habits.   Maybe you’re the only single person in your circle or maybe you just can’t find a circle and you feel lost and alone.

I, for one, am dealing with aloneness and worth issues stemming from a set of current circumstances in my life.  Are these circumstances permanent?  Most likely the answer is no, but being able to navigate the unfun seasons without letting it rip you of your worth can be difficult.  This is just one of the life applications we can glean from Easter.

Jesus also had a horrible set of circumstances He had to walk through while He was still the Victor.  He was betrayed by a close friend and handed over to Roman soldiers who stripped Him of His clothes, repeatedly beat Him, hurled insults at Him and taunted Him as the King of the Jews.  These Roman soldiers could easily be present day bullies who live to demean, insult and ridicule others.  These soldiers even went as far as to crown Jesus with thorns and nail Him to a cross for His unbelievably slow and painful death with a sign adorned to His cross stating He was the King of the Jews.  The mockery continued until He breathed His last breath.  And it wasn’t just the soldiers who ridiculed Him the entire time it took Him to die… The onlookers and another criminal hanging beside Him joined in spitting, taunting and laughing at Him until He breathed His last breath.

But what did Jesus do during this time of extreme hate and ridicule?  He simply uttered the words “Forgive them for they know not what they do”.  Jesus knew that He was the victor despite His circumstances.  He knew His worth was not tied to what was happening that day.  He knew that He was just walking through a moment and that another moment was coming – a moment that would change everything.  His ridiculers might have had fun for a while, but a day would come when His ridiculers would see Him in a new light.

The same is true for each of us.  We may have to walk through some unpleasant seasons in our lives where someone treats us harshly, doesn’t appreciate our talent or good nature or is just hell bent on ruining our day, but we can still be the victor in these moments.  Our self-worth is not determined by who other people think we are; our self worth is determined by who God thinks we are …co-heirs to His throne to be exact. 

A couple of excerpts from “So Will I” by Hillsong say it perfectly:

 “And as You speak, A hundred billion failures disappear, Where You lost Your life so I could find it here, If You left the grave behind You so will I…...
I can see Your heart, Eight billion different ways, Every precious one, A child You died to save…”

That’s who you and I are.  Really.  That’s who everyone is, really.  A precious one, a child Jesus died to save… 

Carrying this knowledge deep in your soul is what allows you to walk through the grey seasons without loosing your worth.  It does not mean you walk through muddy waters thinking you are better than everyone else or deserve better and mount up resentments.  What it does mean is that you simply go through the muddy waters with the knowledge that you are fiercely loved and cared for and you continue to learn and grow and do your best, trusting God to carry you through the rough parts and asking for guidance along the way.