YOU ARE MORE THAN YOU THINK
There is a Bigger Picture…
Sakkie Parsons
Many times, I hear people say, or they write to me something like:
“I am worthless. I mean nothing to myself or to anyone else.”
I want to say this to you now — and I’m going to call the sin by its name.
Today, I want to ask you:
Do not insult yourself — and even worse, do not insult our Lord.
Our Lord does not create anything of little or no value.
So then, who and what are you?
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then He has made you a new person, about whom the Word says:
2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
You are now a child of our Lord. You now have the DNA of our Lord.
It does not matter how the world sees you — to our Lord, you carry all the family traits of Jesus.
Galatians 3:26–27
For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ [into a spiritual union with the Christ, the Anointed] have clothed yourselves with Christ [that is, you have taken on His characteristics and values].
I said that you have the DNA of our Lord — and so it is. For I read:
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Do not allow satan, or people around you — or even your own thoughts — to make you believe that you are worthless or meaningless.
You are from the very best! You are from God.
John 1:12–13
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him (Jesus), He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in [adhere to, trust in, and rely on] His name—
who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].
You might say:
“Yes, Sakkie, that all sounds good and beautiful the way you put it — but look at my life; it’s a complete mess.”
That’s because you, unlike our Lord, do not see the whole picture.
Since I was about 14 years old, I always trained and participated in some kind of sport — as far as it was possible for a blind person. And one thing that stood out over the years — and still applies to me today — is this:
Nothing comes easily.
Or as we from the “old school” still say when we train:
“No pain, no gain.”
One of the beautiful examples from the Word in this regard is Joseph.
Do you remember?
It was not by his own doing, but because of people — his own brothers, no less.
First, he was thrown into a pit.
Then, he was sold as a slave.
Then, he ended up in prison for a long time.
Someone who does not know the rest of the story might exclaim at this point:
“This sounds like a lot of pain — and no gain!”
But listen to what Joseph says, having kept his eyes on the Lord the entire time:
Genesis 45:4–8
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
5 Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family.6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years with neither plowing nor harvesting.
7 God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape.
8 So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
Personally, I wonder whether even the great and wise Joseph fully understood the greatness of the picture when he said — and in my opinion, even prophesied:
Genesis 45:7
“God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.”
With hindsight, you and I can see the prophecy in his words:
Genesis 45:7
… and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.
Yes, now we can see the bigger picture:
That Joseph had to save his family from starvation, that they would become a great nation in Egypt — and that even though many nations tried through the ages to wipe them out, they never succeeded.
Because our Lord still had something in mind for the grand plan:
A great deliverance for the world — and the time for that was still coming.
Galatians 4:4
But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman…
Do you remember what Jesus once said?
John 4:22
You [Samaritans] do not know what you worship; we [Jews] do know what we worship, for salvation is from the Jews.
So, let you and I take our eyes off the pain — and remember the gain that lies ahead.
I want to show you something about this “gain” that awaits you and me.
Jesus says:
John 14:2–3
In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.
Our Lord created the entire universe in six days.
Jesus has now been preparing a place for us for more than 2,000 years.
And He says that when He has completed His preparations, He will come to take us to be with Him.
Can you imagine what that place must look like?
Someone might say that we shouldn’t think about it like that.
All I want to say is this:
However you think about Jesus’ preparations — it’s going to be gloriously wonderful.
1 Corinthians 2:9
…Things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, who obey Him, and who gratefully recognize the benefits that He has bestowed].
Therefore, let’s take our eyes off the “pain,” which is our worries and problems — and let’s remember who and what we are, and the gain that awaits us.
If satan or someone else tries to break you down again — or if your problems seem like too much “pain” — then simply say to yourself:
“What is happening to me now is just part of the journey toward the wonder God has in store for me.”
And then follow Paul’s example, who wrote:
Philippians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own.
All the while remembering who and what you are.
Who and what are you?
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
If you would like to read more about this topic, you can read the following teaching on my website under the Ministry section, or I will gladly send it to you upon your request:
“Why am I here on earth?”
Greetings,
Sakkie