Susan's Musings: Accepting Our True Worth in God's Eyes

In this pleasure-seeking, functionalistic world of ours, appreciating our true worth in God’s eyes may remain either underdeveloped or overwhelmed by the need for measurable success. In either case, it may be impossible for us to fill the “hole” in our heart that belongs to God alone.

Each turning point in life—from youth to young adulthood, from middle to old age—can be seen as an occasion to remain complacent or as an invitation to renew our faith journey and to reclaim our true worth in God’s eyes. When doubt assails us, or trust weakens, it may be time to pray with the psalmist:

"You have turned my mourning into dancing;

You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

So that my soul may praise you and not be silent.

O Lord, my God, I give thanks to you forever." Psalm 30:11-12

Underlying our physical traits and functional talents is the mystery of who we are called and chosen by the Lord to be. “Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb, he named me” (Isaiah 49:1).

This scriptural revelation brings to light the spiritual hunger that overtakes us due to the ephemeral nature of either vital gratification or functional success. The “eat, drink, and be merry” adage of a hedonistic society may feel satisfying for a while, but it does not address the truth that our worth goes beyond pleasure-seeking or power-mongering.

Just as day passes into night, so such “perks” flare up and all too soon disappear. None can hold a candle to the sure foundation of our faith that rests in God alone. Scripture confirms the truth that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not” (Matthew 24:35).

To align who we are and what we do with the plan of Divine Providence is what sustains us in times of trouble. Such trust bolsters our courage when it wanes and prompts us to listen to the Lord when he says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

An invitation this gentle manifests the mercy of God. It enables us to move from the illusion of mastery to the freeing posture of believing the promise of the Good Shepherd that only “goodness and mercy shall follow [us] all the days of [our] life” (Psalm 23:4).

There may have been times in our lives when we were inclined to see God primarily as a Divine Helper rather than as a Divine Caller. We prayed for the blessing of bodily health; the sharpness of a sound mind; the comfort of food, clothing, and shelter. Now we are drawn to deepen our relationship with the Holy Trinity by cultivating a grace-filled heart and modeling our lives on the mercy that responds to human misery.

Having caught a glimpse of our true worth in God’s eyes prompts us to resist the demon of doubt and to focus on celebrating the miracles of grace we might otherwise have overlooked. We let the word of God dwell richly in us so that “whatever [we] do, in word or deed, [we] do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). In gratitude, we pray:

Lord, grant me the privilege of binding every facet of my temporal life, with its expected and unexpected changes, to your eternal benevolence. Help me to find fresh ways to embody in the details of the day the splendor of the changeless love that embraces me from birth to death. Tempted though I may be to doubt the veracity of your teaching, let me turn in humility to the leading of your Spirit and learn to walk always in the truth of who I most deeply am. Amen.