‘I praise you because I am…wonderfully made.’Psalm 139:14 NIV
In order to escape the fear of rejection, we have to wholeheartedly believe that God designed every part of us, and gave us a unique assignment. Putting ourselves down may seem humble, but it causes us to reject God’s design and plan, and settle for something less. So today, let’s declare with the psalmist: ‘Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God’ (vv. 14-17 NLT). Maybe we think we’re ‘less than’ because we’ve been criticised by family or friends, maybe we’ve been bullied at school, maybe we’ve felt condemned by a well-meaning but insensitive church leader. Whatever the circumstances, remember that Satan is the ‘father of lies’ (John 8:44 NLT), and he can use someone to lie about our worth and our potential. His goal is to stop us achieving things for God’s kingdom, and one of the ways he’ll try is to make us believe that we’re not worthy or not capable of fulfilling God’s plan. We need to stand strong on God’s promises and reject Satan’s lies. Psalm 139:14 says: ‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well’ (NIV). God took care over creating each one of us, so we can be sure He cares for us and values us more than we could imagine. What Now? Make a list of every good thing about your character (such as integrity, loyalty, generosity, discernment, wisdom, patience, etc.). Think of how you could use each of those features to glorify God and be a blessing to others.