What They Didn't Tell Me--I Am Valuable
Yall...this series right here....I have like 4 parts and all of them hit me at 1 time so yall are in for a treat. This really blessed me.
As I told yall last week, God has been dealing me regarding identity. Literally as I was typing this, I got clarity on why He was dealing with me about this. It wasn't that I didn't know who I was or who I am; it's because I was sleeping on myself. I was allowing myself to dim my light to appease others. Not that those people ever did anything to make me feel that way but I would much rather see someone else shine than myself.
Because of that, I found myself needing validation from other people. To be honest, a lot of people do that today. I could care less about who likes or comments on social media, but there are a lot of people who do. Why? Because they desire validation. The same way I do.
Don't let where you are in your life make you feel as if you are not valuable.
Rahab
Joshua 2
Now....Rahab was a prostitute. The Bible doesn't go into much detail about how people treated her, but I can only imagine what it was like to be her. I can only imagine what it was like to put a literal value on your body. Rahab literally put a price on her treasure (as my pastor would say). For everyone reading this, don't be so quick to turn up your nose at Rahab. There are some people who are prostituting their gifts to meet a different need. There are some people who will sleep with any and every body just to have someone say that they love them. There are some people who are prostituting their souls for a dollar. It's all the same.
So I can only imagine how Rahab was treated because of her career choice. But just because she does that does not mean she doesn't have value. But isn't that just like people? They see what they want to see. Some people will look at you and will only see your issues. They'll see your slip ups. They'll see your hang ups. They'll see your weaknesses. When they looked at Rahab, all they saw was a prostitute. Rahab had more than that.
Rahab was covered and favored, and because she was obedient, people's lives were saved. And because she was obedient, her family was saved. Because Rahab was obedient, Joshua and the Israelites got the land they were promised.
Jephthah
Judges 11
So I never knew this story existed until I watched "Somebody Lying," which is a sermon Pastor Q Gadson preached at Relentless Church. So I went back and actually read the story, and I immediately saw so many people that I knew. So many people I know have fathers that walked out on them or they never knew their fathers. That's not my story, but I can only imagine what it's like to come from somebody (and a lot of times they look just like them) and they deny you.
That's exactly what Jephthah was going through. He was rejected by his brothers because of his mother. Jephthah's mother was a prostitute. It's funny to me that they treated Jephthah the way that they did, but they came from the same loins of infidelity. Jephthah's mother may have been a prostitute, but their father is an adulterer. If you look at the text, Jephthah's father was married when Jephthah was conceived. Jephthah's mother may have been wrong for being a prostitute, but Jephthah's father was also wrong.
The other thing about this text is that Jephthah's brothers disqualified Jephthah not because of anything Jephthah did, but because of where Jephthah came from. Jephthah did not ask to be the product of that transaction, but the fact of the matter is that is what he was. It wasn't his fault.
I look at society today, and so many people look down on people from the hood or wherever they're from. Some of the most influential people come from those same neighborhoods. How many superstars have you heard say they had it rough growing up? As a matter of fact, Will Packer (he wrote and directed Girls Trip) is from the same place my family is from. He went to FAMU and now he's making some of the highest grossing films. I'm pretty sure the same people that turned their backs on him got their hands out now.
Same thing happened to Jephthah. Jephthah was rejected, but when the time came they needed him. Why? Because Jephthah is valuable. Jephthah possessed the very thing they needed.
The fact of the matter is that people will be people, and they'll never see it for you until they need you. Don't let that create a misinformed reality for you. If you did not have value, you wouldn't be here. Even the ants have value. To be really honest, you were bought with the same price.
1 Peter 1:18-19
Because of that you have value. It doesn't matter what people say. Your value comes from God.
As I told yall last week, God has been dealing me regarding identity. Literally as I was typing this, I got clarity on why He was dealing with me about this. It wasn't that I didn't know who I was or who I am; it's because I was sleeping on myself. I was allowing myself to dim my light to appease others. Not that those people ever did anything to make me feel that way but I would much rather see someone else shine than myself.
Because of that, I found myself needing validation from other people. To be honest, a lot of people do that today. I could care less about who likes or comments on social media, but there are a lot of people who do. Why? Because they desire validation. The same way I do.
Don't let where you are in your life make you feel as if you are not valuable.
Rahab
Joshua 2
Now....Rahab was a prostitute. The Bible doesn't go into much detail about how people treated her, but I can only imagine what it was like to be her. I can only imagine what it was like to put a literal value on your body. Rahab literally put a price on her treasure (as my pastor would say). For everyone reading this, don't be so quick to turn up your nose at Rahab. There are some people who are prostituting their gifts to meet a different need. There are some people who will sleep with any and every body just to have someone say that they love them. There are some people who are prostituting their souls for a dollar. It's all the same.
So I can only imagine how Rahab was treated because of her career choice. But just because she does that does not mean she doesn't have value. But isn't that just like people? They see what they want to see. Some people will look at you and will only see your issues. They'll see your slip ups. They'll see your hang ups. They'll see your weaknesses. When they looked at Rahab, all they saw was a prostitute. Rahab had more than that.
Rahab was covered and favored, and because she was obedient, people's lives were saved. And because she was obedient, her family was saved. Because Rahab was obedient, Joshua and the Israelites got the land they were promised.
Jephthah
Judges 11
So I never knew this story existed until I watched "Somebody Lying," which is a sermon Pastor Q Gadson preached at Relentless Church. So I went back and actually read the story, and I immediately saw so many people that I knew. So many people I know have fathers that walked out on them or they never knew their fathers. That's not my story, but I can only imagine what it's like to come from somebody (and a lot of times they look just like them) and they deny you.
That's exactly what Jephthah was going through. He was rejected by his brothers because of his mother. Jephthah's mother was a prostitute. It's funny to me that they treated Jephthah the way that they did, but they came from the same loins of infidelity. Jephthah's mother may have been a prostitute, but their father is an adulterer. If you look at the text, Jephthah's father was married when Jephthah was conceived. Jephthah's mother may have been wrong for being a prostitute, but Jephthah's father was also wrong.
The other thing about this text is that Jephthah's brothers disqualified Jephthah not because of anything Jephthah did, but because of where Jephthah came from. Jephthah did not ask to be the product of that transaction, but the fact of the matter is that is what he was. It wasn't his fault.
I look at society today, and so many people look down on people from the hood or wherever they're from. Some of the most influential people come from those same neighborhoods. How many superstars have you heard say they had it rough growing up? As a matter of fact, Will Packer (he wrote and directed Girls Trip) is from the same place my family is from. He went to FAMU and now he's making some of the highest grossing films. I'm pretty sure the same people that turned their backs on him got their hands out now.
Same thing happened to Jephthah. Jephthah was rejected, but when the time came they needed him. Why? Because Jephthah is valuable. Jephthah possessed the very thing they needed.
The fact of the matter is that people will be people, and they'll never see it for you until they need you. Don't let that create a misinformed reality for you. If you did not have value, you wouldn't be here. Even the ants have value. To be really honest, you were bought with the same price.
1 Peter 1:18-19
Because of that you have value. It doesn't matter what people say. Your value comes from God.
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