The Spirit’s path for us (or at least for me) isn’t a smooth, straight-ahead line. It’s much more like trying to cross a big trampoline. Sinking low only to rebound high into the air – the lower the dip, the higher the leap – saved and raised up by our God who defeated death and can certainly defeat human disappointment and fear.
Through all the ups and downs, dips and leaps, I’ve learned a few things.
Build up your self-worth. Particularly if you tend toward perfectionism or achievement, you have likely received plenty of external affirmation – awards, honors, praise, scholarships. This is not a bad thing, but it can deplete our internal capacity for self-love and affirmation. True worth and Godly love are rooted not in accomplishments or awards but rather in the pure acceptance that is poured out on all of us from the dawn of creation. God loves us not because of our accomplishments but because of our very being. God calls us to love ourselves in the same way, rooted in self-love as we ride the roller coaster of life’s highs and lows.
This message is excerpted from “Difficult decisions: circumstances that affect our path” by Angela Denker in the August 2019 Café online magazine.
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