2019: A Lesson in Self-Worth

2019 is here! I don’t know what goals you’ve set for yourself this year; whatever they may be, if you intend to achieve them, then it’s time to re-evaluate and strengthen your vision and self-worth. The clock is ticking, urging us to forget yesterday – our regrets, worries & anxieties – and see a brighter & clearer view of tomorrow. So, before you start this year on a fresh path of regret and feelings of unworthiness and irrelevance, here are a few things I think you should consider.

Wherever you find yourself today – your family, school or place of work – was preordained by God. It may not seem like it right now, but perhaps where you are today is only a phase in God’s Master Plan which will ultimately result in you fulfilling your destiny. I am familiar with the feeling of dissatisfaction. We’ve all, at some point wished we were in a different situation – wished we were born to different parents, with a different nationality or had achieved something one of our peers has. We always seem to want bigger, better.  This, more than anything, fuels a lack of self-worth and self-esteem. We find ourselves asking why-why me? Why this? Why that? When such situations arise, take a moment to ask yourself if you have been grateful for what you do have.

Listen, if God knew that the family or nationality we belong to won’t be good for us, He wouldn’t have positioned us there. His Word, in Jeremiah 1:5, states that before we were formed He knew us. He further said in Jeremiah 29:11 that His plan for us is good, not evil to give us hope and a future. Why you? This is why.

God placed us where we are today (family, background, nationality) because of our uniqueness, because that family /continent has a need of us, because that gift or substance in us, when unleashed, would make a difference in that place and time. Perhaps our lives could have gone differently. We could have been born into richer families or obtained better-paying jobs, but we weren’t. Are we then unfortunate? No, we are not. The reason we complain is that we fail to see our worth and value, hence we use others as a status quo to judge our worth.

Would being born into richer families determine our ultimate outcome? Granted, the availability of more resources would be more helpful, but remember some people started from nothing and still achieved great things and are recognized around the world.

So, this year 2019 and beyond, let’s speak to ourselves and rekindle our perception of our self-worth. We have generations in us. We carry nations within. We have what it takes to make it and be the people worth emulating and praising. Though we might have little or nothing in cash or achievement right now, we still have what it takes to climb or even level the mountains that loom before us. Just like every part of our body is useful and has a function to execute, so are we in the grand design of God’s master plan. We have a quota to contribute. We might not be the world’s biggest brain or most wealthy but we do have what it takes to impact lives and society at large.

We were not created to be limited.

We were not created to be classified as unfortunate beings.

We were not created to be held bound by this world’s trials and circumstances

We were not created to be just onlookers and passers-by.

We might not be what we wish to be right now or be where we want to be, but we can sure make a good impact. We are overcomers. Our worth can’t be measured by others’ achievements, location or background because we are unique in our way.

We are boundless. We record breakers

We are seeds destined to bloom and flourish.

Going forward, let us endeavour to change our mentality. We should get up and work towards achieving those visions and ideas bottled up within us. It might tarry, but we will persist because we recognize that our timing is different and we are important in our way and we live to fulfil a purpose.

Wishing you a beautiful 2019 ahead, filled with God’s covenant of peace.