Answer: No one! So why would you trust your validation to someone who doesn’t know who you are? That’s too much power to surrender to a mere mortal, wouldn’t you agree? Facebook followers, Twitter likes and Instagram has become the go to for most people who are seeking affirmation. Those are the wrong places to seek your validation. Your Creator has already validated and affirmed you. So why not go to Him if you’re needing a pick me up? His Word is filled with truths concerning you.
Let me begin with this statement. You’re not an accident or an afterthought. You were created on purpose for a purpose. You’re just looking for affirmation and answers in the wrong places and the wrong people. Look to the One who created you. Listen to these words spoken by your Creator through the prophet Isaiah concerning you, before you were even born.
“But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the One who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I Am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to Me. You are honored, and I love you.”
Isaiah 43:1-4 NLT
I want you to substitute your name for Jacob. Consider that others have been given in exchange for you, Egypt represents bondage, He has moved heaven and earth for you to become your best self. No one on social media or otherwise can boast what you have been given in Christ Jesus. Look at the reason why He did all that. You are precious, honored and loved. Hallelujah!! Your self esteem meter should be off the charts by reading those words. If I don’t share another scripture, that should be enough for you right there. The problem most people have is believing and being persuaded that the Word is true. The Word is alive and active, but it will only benefit those who are fully persuaded.
Whatever you commit to Him He keeps. That includes all that concerns you. The apostle Paul said as much when he was encouraging someone else who wasn’t too confident in who he was called to be. He wanted him to find his affirmation and confidence in the One who knows all about him.
“for I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.”
2 Timothy 1:12b KJV
Still not convinced that you’re special? Your outward appearance is not the real you. It’s a mere shell of who He’s made you to be. Your conviction must come from a deeper place than the superficial. Accolades come and go. They’re fickle at best because they’re coming from people who are superficial. Believing what God says about us is the only way to counteract negative thoughts about ourselves. I cannot change your mind. Like anything else in life you’ll need to believe the truth you’re hearing to experience real transformation. This goes deeper than positive thinking, this requires faith in the One who’s promised.
The exterior of a house may be beautiful, but the real beauty is what we find on the inside. Curb appeal may draw you in, but no one lives on the outside of a house. Because we spend so much time focusing on the outside, we ignore the real beauty that the Holy Spirit has formulated on the inside. That’s what the world lives by, but that’s not us. What makes us beautiful on the outside is the salvation we’ve received on the inside. If we lived in that reality, the thumbs up or down wouldn’t matter. Start by being persuaded by the One in whom you believe. I’m not being led to share any other scripture. There’s no point in offering up more if you’re stumbling over one.
The Holy Spirit wants us to settle in our hearts that 1. His Word is trustworthy. 2. That we need to accept that it is powerful enough to transform us. 3. That we don’t need multiple scriptures to be convinced. He’s in the periods and commas, the exclamations and the inflections. It’s all anointed. He calls it the dot and tittle. And He says it will not pass away or change. He’s so confident in His Word and that it will work in every life, that He’s promised that it will not return unfulfilled. Isaiah 55:11. It is to be believed no matter what. No one had more opportunity to be self destructive than me. I wasn’t taught to love or like myself. Then one day the Lord spoke the words of the scripture I’ve shared at the beginning of this message. I chose to believe it and became fully persuaded that He meant it. By embracing His truth over the lies I was told, my inner beauty transformed the exterior.
Put the emphasis where it belongs. Develop your believing by renewing your mind with the Word of God. Go on a fast from social media if it’s infringing on your ability to accept that you’re fearfully and wonderfully made. Give that time to reading and meditating on God’s Word. People who complain that these messages are too long, will sit and watch television for hours or spend hours on social media. No wonder so many Christians are living defeated lives. They’re malnourished. Starved of the Truth of scripture but full of the world’s diet. God by His Spirit wants the body of Christ to be vibrant and confident in who He’s made us to be. If your identity is not found in Him, you will be devastated by the evaluation of others.
If you own a mirror, I want you to look in it. Who do you see? What thoughts come to mind as you see the image looking back at you? How do you critique who’s looking back at you? What words do you speak to the image you see? Are you pleased with who you see? Every question I’ve posed has a positive response in God’s Word concerning that image in the mirror. If your Creator was satisfied enough to declare “very good!” So say I and you should too. The house He created was nothing until He breathed His breath into it. Live His breath, celebrate His breath, that’s what makes you you.
Whether we believe or not doesn’t change the character or integrity of God. He knows who He is. Believing is for us. When God does something He doesn’t call a meeting with the executive branch of Gabriel and Michael, He's the executive branch. That’s why He boldly says “My Word will never return empty (void), it will accomplish everything I have sent it to do and it will prosper in the thing to which it is sent. Isaiah 55:11 Emphasis mine. Did you get that? It will prosper! Choose to BELIEVE! That’s why we’ve been given His Spirit and His Word. And that’s more than enough.
Written by permission of the Holy Spirit
W. Tennant
September 22, 2021