Topic: Make Friends with Yourself [Joyce Meyer Devotional 19 February 2021]
Click HERE for Previous Devotionals
. . . love your neighbor as yourself . . .— Mark 12:33 (NIV)
Are you at peace with yourself? Since we spend more time with ourselves than we do with anyone else, not liking who we are is a major problem. After all, we cannot get away from ourselves. And if we don’t like ourselves, we usually don’t enjoy being with anyone else, either.
This was true for me. I suffered from not liking myself for many years, but I didn’t realize it. Nor did I understand that my self-rejection and self-hate were why I didn’t get along with most people, and why most people couldn’t get along with me.
The way we see ourselves is the way others will see us. We can see this principle illustrated in Numbers 13, when the 12 spies Moses sent to investigate the Promised Land came back from their scouting expedition. Ten of the spies gave a very negative report: There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13:33, AMPC).
Because 10 of the spies saw themselves as “grasshoppers,” their enemy saw them as grasshoppers, too. How can we expect others to accept us if we reject ourselves? Before we can make peace with others, we need to make peace with ourselves. And to make peace with ourselves, we need to know our identity in Christ. God’s Word assures us that we have tremendous value because of who we are—His beloved children.
What I do is not always perfect. But I still know who I am—a child of God that He loves deeply.
You have tremendous worth and value, and that will never change. You’re a treasure to God, He paid a high price to redeem you (see Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:19), and He has an amazing plan for your life (see Jeremiah 29:11). As you begin to believe that you are God’s precious, beloved son or daughter, that truth will bring more healing to your soul and freedom to your life than you ever thought possible.
Prayer Starter: Father, please help me to begin to see myself the way You see me—as Your treasured, deeply loved child—and help me receive Your love today. Thank You for placing such value on me that You would sacrifice Your only Son to redeem me. In Jesus’ name, amen.