By Julia Sexil
Prior to the last boarding call for a flight back to Florida, I heard my name announced over the loudspeaker to see the clerk at the front desk.
Bewildered, I stood up to stretch one last time. I wiped away any evidence of sleep from my eyes, gathered my belongings, and made my way to the airport worker.
The busy clerk continued typing on her keyboard. She didn’t look up.
The clerk handed me a piece of paper with an updated ticket and kept working.
I had been assigned a first-class seat. Was this a mistake?
After boarding the plane, my stomach was tangled in knots and my hands trembled.
I felt undeserving of this new seat. Like an imposter who didn’t belong there.
A million thoughts raced through my head. Why the change? The airline must have mistaken me for another person.
From my spacious first-class seat with ample legroom, God spoke truth to my heart about my self-worth and the keys to overcoming shame.
Overcoming Shame Begins with Jesus
Jesus understands rejection. Christ was despised and rejected, pierced for our rebellions, crushed for our sins, and beaten so we could be healed (Is 53:4–9).
Jesus knew how it felt to be unwanted. He experienced disapproval.
Yet, He still chose to die for us.
He never complained about suffering for us. He wanted to give up His life for us.
Jesus died for us because we are worth that much to Him.
Our Worth to God
The magnitude of our worth to God is directly proportionate to His love for us—invaluable.
Whether we possess insecurities from our childhood, anger we can’t release, or deep wounds from relationships, Christ loves us and willingly redeemed us at a high price.
His death on the cross was a means of carrying the weight of our sins and insecurities. Jesus proved the depth of His love for us by dying on our behalf.
We are His treasure.
Since before creation, the focus of God’s love has always been us—not our flaws.
We were handpicked by the Lord to be His very own possession.
We are significant. If God sees us as valuable, we, too, should view ourselves in this same light.
Our unified connection with Christ grants us a royal seat bearing our names (Eph 2:6). We can sit with ease in our given seats because we belong beside Christ.
God’s Word validates our worth to Him.
Overwhelmed by Shame
We may still wrestle with seeing ourselves how God views us. The shame these negative thoughts bring can be overwhelming and reinforce the lies we believe.
But we’re valuable to God.
Shame keeps our hands bound in chains and heads bowed low in defeat. Living in such a way blotches the image of who we are in Christ—His possession.
Shame makes it difficult to accept the first-class seats Jesus has secured for us—sitting beside Jesus in His throne room.
So, how do we overcome the lies we’ve convinced ourselves to believe about our value to Him?
Three Keys to Overcoming Shame
Here are three keys to overcoming shame and the lies we’ve believed regarding our worth before God:
1 – Pray for God to open the eyes of our hearts so we can see ourselves how He sees us.
“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called.” – Ephesians 1:18 NLT
2 – Praise God that we are chosen and without fault in His eyes.
“Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.” – Ephesians 1:4 NLT
3 – Declare truth over and over about our identity in Christ.
Remember, we’re VALUED, and we are…
Victorious
“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” – 1 John 4:4 NLT
Amazing
“Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” – Psalm 139:14 NLT
Loved
“And I am quite convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.” – Romans 8:38 NLT
Unique
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5 NLT
Exceptional
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.” – 1 Peter 2:9 NLT
Distinguished
“You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and He has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be His own special treasure.” – Deuteronomy 14:2 NLT
We’re wanted. We’re approved of by God. We’re significant to our Creator.
Overcoming Shame by Receiving the Gift
Our gracious Father is calling our names over the loudspeaker of our hearts to take advantage of this first-class seat next to Him.
This seat is completely free. It’s already been bought at a high price and is our gift from the King.
We can’t earn this seat, but it’s ours for the taking.
No mistake. It’s for us.
Because you and I are worth that much to Him.
Julia Sexil
With a stethoscope in one hand and pen and Bible in the other, Julia possesses a deep passion to inspire others to take God as Father and friend. She is a registered nurse, holding a specialty in Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation, homeschool educator, and mother of three. Her first children’s publication will be released later this year. Julia lives in Washington with her husband and childhood sweetheart, Mike.
