Your Sense of Worthiness

 

Before God created the world, He chose us to know Him and to have fellowship with Him. But the powerful God who made us was pure and holy, and sin separated us from His presence. God loved us so much that He made a way for us to have an intimate and loving relationship with Him. He sent His dear Son to us—not to condemn us but to save us (Ephesians 1:4-6, John 3:16-17). When you accept Christ as your Savior, God adopts you as His own. You are His. He is in you, and you are in Him (1 Corinthians 6:17).

 

—And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

—Galatians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

 

“Abba” is a term of endearment that indicates a deeply loving and intimate relationship with God. The presence of the Holy Spirit within us proves that we are the children of God. God is our Abba Father—our loving “Daddy.” This is a spirit of sonship, and it brings a sense of worthiness that we are at peace with God. Knowing God loves and accepts us is the opposite of feeling we are slaves to God. The thought of being a slave to God creates a feeling that we need to earn the privilege to be in His presence. And there is no way to be at peace in the presence of God if we believe we are not worthy in His eyes.

 

—For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

—Romans 8:15 (NKJV)

 

The law made God our judge but the Grace of Jesus made God our Father. We are no longer under the law but under Grace (Romans 6:14). God desires for us to know Him not as the Father who judges but as the Father who loves us. As His child, you don’t need to fear His judgment. He doesn’t want you to have a tense and uncomfortable relationship with Him. God longs for you to know that you have the freedom to boldly come to Him in your time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

 

God chose us to be His sons and daughters. The “sonship” that Christ has given us is found in three ways, and we were created to need these three things—a secure identity, acceptance, and approval. Without these things, you cannot live a peaceful life. But no person can give you a sense of worthiness. Only in knowing who you are in Christ do you find your worth in God.

 

When you don’t understand who you are in Christ, you live with a sense of never being good enough. You don’t grasp the liberating truth that Christ has set you free. You try to find your identity, acceptance, and your worth in the opinions of others and in your circumstances. Instead of resting in the Grace of Jesus who has already made you worthy, you live in fear and insecurity. The law gives you no security because you can never be good enough to meet it. The Grace of Jesus gives you unshakeable security. And Christ is within you crying out that you are no longer slaves to the law, but a child of His Grace. 

 

—To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

—Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

 

The love of God has been made known to us in Christ. Christ lives within us, the hope of glory. We receive our identity, our acceptance, and approval from being His and being in Him. As Jesus is, so are we in this world (1 John 4:17). When God sees us, He sees the identity of His Son. Just as much as God loved and accepted and approved of His Son, so He loves, accepts, and approves of us.

 

You were created to overcome in His Grace—not to be defeated by the fear of not being good enough. Who you believe you are in Christ—your identity in Him—your sense of worthiness in Him—makes all the difference between living a fearful or a peaceful life. 

 

© 2022 Lynn Lacher

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