I Corinthians 16:13-14 (NLT)
Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.
“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” This line is from the novel by Kathryn Stockett that became a major motion picture called “The Help”. It is the story of Aibileen Clark and Minnie Jackson who are maids in the Civil Rights era exposing the racism of that day. My grandmother often told me of the maid/nanny that her family employed when she was very young. She loved her nanny very much and spoke highly of her. These women were very influential in raising the children of their employers and fictitious Aibileen is a portrait of who she described. In the movie, she is the primary caregiver for a little girl named Mae Mobley who is often neglected and hurt by her mother. Aibileen repeatedly tells the little girl, “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” Even in poor grammar this statement is powerful. Too often we do not see the value in our creation due to the mishandling and abuse of other people. God created you to be kind. He created you with intelligence. The sacrifice of His Only Son makes you significant and yes, important not to mention quite valuable to the Father. There are many believers today who cannot receive all that God has for them because their heart is overrun with bitterness and unforgiveness not only for others but more significantly for themselves. Brokenness makes us feel inferior and worthless in a world that advertises prosperity based on perfection that is not really true but how society perceives success. God loves you. You are of infinite worth. It is important that as believers we guard our heart against the lie of the enemy that tempts you to believe that God does not love you because of sin. He does not want to punish you for anything that you have done. But the Lord is working to pull you from the pit of depression and place you on a rock of faith so you can enter His Presence and experience the confident hope of one who has been born again and set free. You are kind. You are smart and you are important. Now it is time to be on guard, stand firm in faith, be courageous and strong doing everything in love.
Deuteronomy 32:9-11 (NLT)
For the people of Israel belong to the LORD; Jacob is his special possession. He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes. Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.
The Lord has claimed us as His Special Possession. It began with the People of Israel and overflowed by mercy and grace to the Gentiles. We are set apart as holy not in isolation but under the protection of Almighty God as we are treasured by Him. (Deuteronomy 14:2) But the problem is God’s Treasure, His Very Own People have no idea of their infinite worth to Him. Choosing to live in the squalor of this world rather to take a step of faith and place all their expectation in the Father. Let’s face it in many homes the father is absent the idea is formed that a father’s love is undependable. Such abandonment has created many men and women who have a poor definition of love and lack any self worth because of the rejection of their own parents in life. Thankfully the people who bore us and even raised us do not define who we are called to be. It is by direct mandate of God who took the time to plan our life and fill it with purpose with every single day recorded before we were born. (Psalm 139:16) The Lord knew what the enemy might use to deceive you and draw you away so the Lord made provisions throughout your entire life and filled it with opportunities for your relationship to be restored. Trust only comes by faith and it can only be fulfilled by a heart entrusted to God by people who work diligently to keep it there. How can we find our self-worth in a world that is constantly critical? Go to the source. The Lord will speak the words of affection, affirmation and acceptance that you need, if you would only value yourself enough to listen.
Psalm 16:5-8 (NLT)
LORD, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance! I will bless the LORD who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
The Lord is my inheritance. I am valuable because of His Great Worth. He is my cup of blessing, provider and greatest resource. This world has nothing for me therefore it cannot define me. You guard all that is mine. I love this verse because it means when I put my faith and trust in the Lord and have confident hope in who I am in Jesus Christ, then God guards all my stuff. No longer do I have to worry about keeping it all together but instead just remaining in the refuge He has prepared for me. Suddenly, I no longer have to fight for what’s mine but rather strive to maintain my position. I must be on guard. What am I guarding?
Proverbs 24:3 (NLT) Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
I must guard my heart. The Lord guards my soul. (Proverbs 24:12) His Spirit lives there. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Now we are dead to sin, and can do what is right. He is the Guardian of our souls. (I Peter 2:24-25) But our heart is a very different matter as it is driven by our mind, will and emotions. It is important that we guard our heart and stop giving it away in pieces to every person and everything else. We must give our heart to the Lord and leave it there. It is all that He requires. We must love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5) We control our heart. Jesus has our soul. Now we must use our energy to keep our heart locked into a position of righteousness and godliness.
Psalm 141:3-4 (NLT)
Take control of what I say, O LORD, and guard my lips. Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.
Our words reveal the contents of one’s heart. (Luke 6:45) Do not let words of negativity or complaining reveal a lack of confidence in God. Whether the words are harmful to others or a direct attack against yourself, the enemy will pick up on those weaknesses and use them against you. The power of life and death are in the tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) The words you speak about you are equally as detrimental as those leveled against. Are the words you speak kind, necessary and true? If not, don’t say it!
I Thessalonians 5:5-8 (NLT)
For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
We must live in the armor of our faith to remain alert and clearheaded. Helmet of salvation brings confident hope but when we set our mind on the things of this world, we forget that leaving our armor of faith behind. This is a dangerous position. Never underestimate the strength and stealth of the enemy. He is stronger than you. (Luke 11:20-22) And he is relentlessly pursing you waiting for you to stop believing and trusting God if even for a moment so that he can devour you. (I Peter 5:7-9) The only hope that you have in defeating the enemy is Jesus Christ. (John 16:33) You must remain faithful to Jesus in order to have this valuable protection in your life. Outside of the Lord, you do not stand a chance. “Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.” (Revelation 12:10-11) It is a fight to the finish and a battle to the death. But those who remain faithful to Christ standing on faith enveloped in confident hope have nothing to fear for in the end they win!
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Don’t worry about anything. Anything is a lot. In fact, its everything in your life. How can we not worry? Have you read the news? Yes, but I read God’s Word every day, too. I know the end from the beginning and I believe what it says, therefore I have nothing to fear as long as I am faithful to Jesus. Righteousness allows us to remain in close proximity to God. I have nothing to fear in this position because He guards all that is mine. I am who He said that I am by faith. I will do everything He promised by faith. I can have all that of His Blessings by faith. But righteousness must be received for the Lord will not force you into that position. You must choose to be there by accepting the Grace and Love of Jesus Christ. It is a guarded position. (Isaiah 42:6) Godliness is a guard that allows us to remain in rightstanding with God. If we choose God’s Standard of Living, we will remain in righteousness under the constant care of our Father. (Proverbs 13:6) It is your right to be there given by Jesus Christ. You can live in close proximity with God thankfully not based on our own character but the sacrifice of Jesus. No one can take that position from you but you can give it away! Those who choose to live in righteousness and godliness will have God’s Peace. His Peace guards and protects our heart and mind!
Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT)
I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint.
So what now? It really is quite simple. I will climb. Wrapped in faith with the confident hope that is the helmet of my salvation, I will rise above the empty philosophies of this world including its opinion of me. (2 Peter 3:17-18) I will stand. The lies of the enemy will not lure me down, change my mind or harm me in any way. I will not be moved by people. I will not be shaken by troubles. I will hang on for dear life no matter how strong the storm. I will utilize the Power of the Holy Spirit that lives in me to maintain my position at all costs. (2 Timothy 1:13-14) Finally, I will wait. Just because it has not happened yet, does not mean that it will not happen at all just that my Father is working out every single detail for my good and benefit. (Romans 8:28) I will guard my temple while I wait for the enemy will try to invade and rob it. (Zechariah 9:9) I will stay alert because no one knows when Jesus is coming. I just know that He is! Be on guard today! The best is yet to come! (Mark 13:32-33)
John 14:1-3 (NLT)
“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”
You are kind. You are smart. But most of all, you are important to Jesus!
Comments