“Going, going, gone!” the famous street artist, Banksy wrote on his Instagram page as his painting ‘Girl With Balloon’ was shredded at a Sotheby’s Auction. It had just sold for a million pounds ($1.4 million) and now it was damaged beyond repair – worthless?
Not so! In fact, art dealers are saying the painting is now worth at least double. Certainly it’s the most talked about piece of art in all the world right now. Some are calling this a publicity stunt or a ‘rebuke of empty consumerism’, but it got me thinking about value and I felt God say, that no matter how shredded we feel, we do not lose our value. In fact, the struggles we overcome increase our value!
Do you feel shredded? Perhaps you have lost a loved one and your life is unravelling. Maybe you’ve been the victim of abuse or theft and you feel like you will never get back what has been stolen from you. There are 101 reasons why our lives may lie around us in tatters…
The good news is that no matter how dark your situation, you haven’t lost your significance. God still has a divine purpose for your life and He can make all things new. Only He can cause all things to work together for good. Somehow, He is able to weave all our struggles, disappointments, weaknesses, heartache and pain into something worthwhile.
Many have shared the example of our lives being a tapestry and how we only get to see the one side, a chaotic mix of different threads – yet when we finally get to see the other side, a beautiful picture emerges. This is what God does if we trust in Him.
Most of us, when asked how we are, will answer that we are fine! Pop psychology tells us this can translate to Freaked out; Insecure; Neurotic and Emotional! How do you really feel today. Could it be one of these? God wants you to move from fine to flourishing. He wants you to know how valuable you are to Him and to others. So valuable that He sent His son Jesus to secure your eternal salvation.
And, this value you have is not just for eternity, it’s for right now. God cares so much for you He wants you to live an abundant life and walk in victory over all the obstacles in your way, rescuing you from all your troubles. Remember the words of Jesus…
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Jesus is the Prince of Peace and no matter what we are going through He can give us the ability to cope. But not just to cope, to flourish! As we allow the peace of God to rule in our heart’s, tossing aside the negative and embracing the positive.
I remember the day in church when the pastor held up a £10 note… it was in a filthy condition, badly wrinkled and torn. He crushed it in his fist, then stood on it and crumpled it some more. Then he held it up and asked, what is this worth?
It was still worth £10 even though it was damaged. I loved this example but I think the Banksy painting example is even better as the damage actually increases the value. You are more valuable today than ever before, if you’ve been through some stuff, because you’ve learnt something.
Joyce Meyer recently was brave enough to name the abuse her father infected on her as rape. (See post) There are those who have criticised her for saying this, seeing she has also shared the story of how she forgave her father and led him to the Lord. (He died knowing that he was forgiven, a new creation, despite the awful things he had done.)
There is a time to let things rest and move on knowing God has forgiven us. However I think those who criticise Joyce miss the point. She had to accept the magnitude of what happened to her to share how far she has come. The point is that if she had to live her life over again she wouldn’t have prevented what happened to her.
This is a shocking thing to say, and I listened gobsmacked that Joyce would say such a thing. But she has learnt a higher truth. She has concluded that all the pain and despair she went through is worth it in the end due to the person she has become. Someone with a heart filled with compassion for the hurting who is able to speak from her past pain and comfort others.
You never lose your value in God
You may be the most damaged person in the whole world but God can still use you, you never lose our value with Him and He can vastly increase your significance to the point of making you the most famous shredded person ever. Look what He did for Joyce. He can do the same for you!
He has called you to be more than a conqueror. He can cause you to triumph through our Lord Jesus Christ. Look to Him to today to put your life back together and be assured He will use you to help others to do the same. In so doing you will find your eternal significance.
I love how Brian Houston from Hillsong puts it: “Your mountain can move from the obstacle in front of you to the testimony behind you!”
You and I are more valuable to God than we could ever imagine!