Do you remember how amazing it felt when you landed a dream job? For me, it was an answered prayer! I was ecstatic to add this to my resume. However, that feeling was short lived. As I embraced my position, I attempted to make positive changes. To my surprise, I was seen as a young girl with ideals. It was made clear that I had no place to propose changes to something that functioned, though it lacked integrity. Sadly, I was met with rejection and humiliation.  In fact, I went home crying every day. I felt like a failure. I was broken. I didn’t know how to pick up the pieces and move forward.

But there was someone else who saw me: God, our Father. In spite of what was spoken to me and against me, He affirmed that I was His daughter, that I had worth, and that His purpose was for me to bloom where I was planted. With His strength and the support of many praying friends, I made the best of my time there until I transitioned to a new job which turned out to be the pinnacle of my career.

When reading Luke 7:36-50, we read about a woman wetting Jesus’ feet with her tears, drying them with her hair and then, anointing them with perfume from an alabaster jar. It sounds like a beautiful act of worship, but there was one thing: she was known as a sinful woman. The people saw this woman as a sinner, inferior, unworthy, and they were disgusted by her.  This is evident as the host of this event said to himself about Jesus, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” In contrast to this view, we read that Jesus SAW HER by accepting her actions as devotion, releasing her from sinful past, and explaining how she is a model of faith, leaving her with peace.

When we’ve made mistakes and we’ve been spoken of poorly, it’s hard to believe that we are worthy or that we are loved. Be encouraged dear Friend: “Your worth is found in God, not in the opinions of others.” (Jarrid Wilson) To God, you “are more precious than rubies” (Proverbs 31:10). God sees you and He loves you very much.
~Joyce