The thing is that once you have been told you are worthless enough, you start to believe it.  The Scripture gives us a great picture into insecurity in the character of Mephibosheth. You can find this story in 2 Samuel 9.  But for the sake of time, let me give you the picture. Mephibosheth was the grandson of the King of Israel, Saul. He would have inherited the kingdom and been king one day if only his grandfather had not displeased the Lord.  But Saul did displease the Lord and the Lord allowed Saul to be defeated in battle along with his son, Jonathan. Mephibosheth was in the palace. The enemy stormed the palace. She picked him up trying to run with him but she dropped him.  His injuries left him with a type of paralysis in his feet.  

In the Middle East, especially at this time, if someone had some kind of deformity, they were considered to be a curse to themselves and anyone else they are near.  They were treated like street dogs, beaten and rejected. This is how Mephibosheth grew up.

Years later, David is now King of Israel and he wants to do something kind in honor of his friend, Jonathan who is Mephibosheth’s dad.  He calls for Mephibosheth and invites him to come and live in the palace and he is going to restore his wealth and let him eat at the king’s table.  What a gift! But how does Mephibosheth respond:

2 Samuel 9:8

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

When you have been treated like a dead dog, after a while, you start believing that you are who people say you are.

Many of you reading this were made to feel as if you didn’t matter, that you were somehow less than, never good enough, too ugly, too fat, too dumb, too awkward.  It is natural to develop thoughts that if the people who know me best treat me like trash, then I must be trash or why else would they treat me this way. We are filled with insecurities of all kinds that cause us to shrink back from life always wondering if we are worthy of someone’s love, we shrink back from opportunity thinking we aren’t smart enough or good enough.  But I want to remind you today that it is the truth that sets us free and what is the truth about you? And this brings us to the Verse of the Day:

Ephesians 2:10

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

There it is-the truth.  You are the workmanship of God, made in Christ Jesus.  You are the workmanship of the Creator. He is the Creator, full of imagination that cannot be matched.  The artist that painted all of Creation so vibrantly and beyond description. Yes, that same God who beautifully crafted the stars in the sky, the sunset and sunrise, the rainbow, the delicate rose, and snow-capped mountains created you and you are His masterpiece, His most prized work.  I don’t care what your daddy said!

Now, the question for you is who are you going to believe about yourself?  Will you believe what others say or what God says?

How can you be a dead dog when you the brush strokes of our Heavenly Father cover your body?  How can you be a dead dog when God mixed the colors on his palette to create intelligence, humor, laughter, and soul beauty?  How can you be a dead dog when you are the workmanship of God?

We walk by faith.  The faith that leads to the abundant life in Christ planned for us by our Maker requires that we believe who He says He is, but it also requires us to believe that we are who He says we are.  Don’t put your head down like a dead dog, but lift your shoulders like the sunrise, and hold your head high as the eagle flies, walk with confidence as the river runs. For you…you are His greatest work.

I pray the Lord give you faith to walk in His estimation of who you are and heal you from those who treated you like a dead dog.

Do you struggle with this?  Leave me a comment. I would love to pray for you.