I Want to be Liked!

Day 60

I want to be liked.  Well, doesn't everyone?  I find it a bit selfish to want others to accept me for who I am.  I care deeply about what others think about me and I struggle when I am with people I care about, but feel as if I don't exist.  Have you ever felt like, me?

I love being Sherry's husband.  She makes me better, because she loves God mostly.  Her tenderness is shown by the way she interacts with me and her love for me is always on display through the kindness of her heart and the beauty of her actions.  She makes me feel important.  Needed.  Accepted.  Valued.  

Value doesn't come from how many "likes" I get on a Facebook or Instagram post; rather, value comes from God who made me...made you...made the world.  King David said it best, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it."  Psalm 139:14

Value isn't recognition as being one of the best preacher or teacher or being asked to speak at major conferences; rather, value is God choosing me...you to share his message no matter if the crowd is large or small.  Jeremiah said, "Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it." Jeremiah 29:11

I want to be liked, don't you?  I want my kids and step kids and church family and community and other preachers and family to like me and accept me.  However, my value...your value doesn't come from how many people like us; rather, our eternal value comes from God, who made me...you.

I struggle with anxiety.  It's a debilitating at times.  My anxiousness sometimes is driven by my need to be liked or valued or accepted.  When I am focusing on what others think about me and how they treat me or responds to me, it triggers self-doubt.  My confidence level hits zero.  And, my anxiety kicks into overdrive.  The key for me it to not focus on who likes me or how others value me or will they accept me; rather, to focus on the love of God and those who are already demonstrating their love for me in real time...all the time.  

I want you to know that God loves you deeper and wider and longer than anyone else.  He values you and accepts you and will go to the ends of the earth for you.  You are loved more than you will ever know! 

Remember, Be God Controlled!