The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts

Verse: 2 Cor. 12:9
But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.'

While looking into the mirror recently I was focusing on the areas of myself I didn’t like one area after another. Finally, God had had enough and He broke through my negativity and gently said, ‘You are more than the parts of yourself you don’t like.’

We are so much more than those parts of ourselves we don’t like. We are also so much more than the struggles and challenges we face. We are more than the addition we struggle with, more than the learning challenges we have, more than the scar, more than the guilt, more than the disability, more than the number (age or weight), and more than our past mistakes. Our worth is not based on how much or how little we know. Out of our frustration and desire to change we may think, ‘I wish I was ______,' fill in the blank with an adjective of your choosing; smarter, thinner, prettier, more successful etc. The list could go on and on. Occasionally on bad days it does, but no matter how we feel about ourselves God loves us and values us just as we are. Satan will try to keep us thinking negatively because in that negativity is defeat. However, it is helpful to remember that, God made us in His own image (Genesis 1:27) therefore; we are made to succeed (Philippians 4:13 and Romans 8:29 & 31 ). We are loved by our Creator. Don’t give up or give in.

I will praise you, O Lord.

Prayer:
Father, thank you that I am made in your image and that you value me even when I am not able to value myself.

Plan of Action (James 1:22-25):
Begin to write out some encouraging bible verses, then when the negative and intrusive thoughts come say those verses out loud until the verses are memorized. Also, forward this to someone that may need to hear this.

Read More:

Psalm 139:13-15 & Luke 12:6-7

Sacrifice a.k.a. consideration continued

Earlier this week I was reading in a devotional book called, 'The Word For You Today' - Wednesday, February 23rd and I came accross the following and it seemed to fit in with the sacrifice/consideration subject for this month. The verse was Psalm 100:2 which reads, 'Serve the Lord with gladness...' Further along in the devotion it states, "When you come to believe, really believe that service is God working through you..." There is more to that sentence, but that portion of it really struck me. I did not realize that our service we are offering to God now, is God working through us. I was thinking that as we serve; God would use us occasionally to impact someone around us as we worked. I did not realize that our service/sacrifice is God using us now. I guess I was thinking that our usefulness was measured by the outcomes, or the reactions of the people around us. However, I realized that we are to do our part and serve God, how others respond or don't respond is between that person and God.

As I was mulling that over I was flipping through the Bible and I came accross Proverbs 1:19. This verse says, "When you grab all you can get, that's what happens: the more you get, the less you are." (The Message Bible) I thought, wow how true that is. The more we hold back and don't sacrifice for others, the more we become dissatisfied with ourselves, and even discontented and disappointed in ourselves. 'The less we are.' So God has arranged for us to receive a double blessing. As we serve/sacrifice for others we get the additional blessing of contentment. Wow! God is good!

Sacrifice a.k.a. Consideration

Matthew 22:39
And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

Dictionary.com defines sacrifice as, “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.” Sacrifice can be such an intimidating word. It implies deprivation, and pain. Jesus’ goal may be to get us to a place where we can be sold out, 100% for Him, but that is an ongoing journey, not a place where most Christians start. Instead we can begin by being considerate, in other words making small sacrifices for someone else.

Matthew 22:39 states that we are to love our neighbors. A simple definition of ‘our neighbors’ is someone other than ourselves, not just the people who live next door. In a biblical sense neighbors are people who are near to us, the people we interact with on a daily basis. Instead of deprivation God may want us to do without for a short time. Instead of experiencing pain God may want us to forsake our wants for the benefit of others. While doing without and forsaking our wants are temporarily not pleasant experiences yet these sacrifices can have eternal rewards. This can be a good way to love the people around us. So a practical definition of sacrifice can be; doing something we don’t want to do for someone else’s benefit.

A couple of examples of the consideration Jesus showed others is when Jesus cooked breakfast for His disciples (John 21:9-13), and turned water into wine as His Mother requested (John 2:3-10). Jesus wants us to follow the examples He set by being considerate and sacrificing our time and energy for others.

Read More:
John 21:9-17

Prayer:
Lord help me to make my considerations for others a sacrifice to You, so that if no one recognizes my efforts I won’t be angry or hurt.

Action Plan:
Decide to make small sacrifices for others without expecting anything in return.