Searching for Significance
Two of the many aspects that I love about God is that He is so loving and He’s so forgiving. He loves us when we’re not very lovable and He forgives us when we don’t seem very forgivable. But the one aspect of God that blows my mind is how accepting He is of us. And it blows my mind because, let’s be honest, most of us would have to admit that when we became Christians, we weren’t very acceptable. But God didn’t ask us to change anything. He just went ahead and accepted us just as we were. He reached out and received us to Himself, and then we started making changes. I realize the audience that I am addressing is mostly made of up of individuals who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, and that’s awesome! But did you realize that Jesus has accepted you? Many Christians never fully grasp the beauty of the simple truth: “Jesus has accepted me!” And because we fail to embrace that incredible truth, we often spend our lives trying to find acceptance through a lot of things, don’t we? We strive for things like power or prestige or pleasure. And we think, “Surely this will satisfy and end my search for significance.” Or maybe you assume that you can find true esteem in a relationship. So you get a dating app and you eventually meet someone and you think, “This person will fulfill and meet all of my needs.” And you begin to date and eventually you get married, but after a while, things begin to go south. And you think to yourself, “Something is missing; I’ll just walk away from this relationship and find someone else,” and the cycle begins all over again.
I hate to be the one to break the news to you, But Solomon made it very clear in his journal that we know as The Book of Ecclesiastes that if you are chasing power or prestige or pleasure, it it will lead you nowhere. It’s like chasing the wind. Those things will never satisfy or bring significance. And if you’re looking for significance through relationships, you’re going to be disappointed as well. You’re placing pressure and responsibility and expectations on another human being’s shoulders that only God can meet. Instead, you have to come to terms with who you are before God, and then and only then will you find true significance. And, so I want share with you two principles that will help you if you struggle in this area of significance.
1st: God thinks about you every second on every day. In fact, from the moment that He made you, God has been thinking about you. He can’t get you off of His mind. In fact, here are some verses that are worth memorizing for those times when you begin to question and doubt your self-worth and significance.
Psalm 139:1-6: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
Isaiah 43:1: But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, Jacob, who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Isaiah 49:16: See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.
Luke 12:7: Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
2nd: You are so important to God that you cost Him His very own Son. Every time you see a cross, remember that it’s a symbol of significance. Remind yourself that it’s symbolic of what Jesus did for you. Paul put it this way in Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. If you feel insignificant today, meditate that mind-blowing truth.