God confirmed your value by sending what was most precious and valuable to Him to purchase you, His Son. Your value is not based on your past or your performance, but on your purchase price, which will always be the blood of Jesus!

If you can get a proper perspective, or image, of how God sees you as a new creation in Christ, and how you see God in light of His love and care for you, then you will build a foundation that cannot be moved by the storms of life. It cannot be moved by negative reports or the appearances of circumstances that you are experiencing in your world!

Jesus told us to go into all the world as His representatives. Where you go, He goes. Even as He is, so are you in this world (1 John 4:17). That doesn’t mean that you’re Jesus, it means you represent His power. If you can’t present His power, then all you’re giving the world is another philosophy!

Scripture says we are to “love others as we love ourselves” (Mark 12:33, author’s paraphrase).  Maybe the reason there is so much harsh treatment of others is that people hate themselves. They don’t have an understanding of how deeply God loves and values them, and as a result feel less-than and condemned most of the time. They can’t give to others what they don’t have, so they project that same attitude toward those around them!

Born again believers are the temple of the living God, as God has said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they shall be my people” (1 Corinthians 6:16). Wow! We walk, He’s dwelling in us; we talk, He’s living in us; we experience life, He’s experiencing it through us—we are one with Him!

We are not designed to continually handle hard struggles, difficulty, shame, lack, stress, anxiety and failures. Jesus said, “Come unto me and I will give you rest for your souls.” Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matt. 11:28–30), so take Him up on His offer! This is where peace is found!

I’m on the other side of the cross, are you? When you encounter the cross of Christ and come to that place where you can leave every hindrance there, every circumstance and anxiety and every form of sickness and disease—then you’re living on the other side of the cross!

Part of your identification with Christ is understanding how much God loves you. Do you realize that the hairs of your head are counted (Luke 12:7)? That you are inscribed in the palms of God’s hands (Isaiah 49:16)? You’re the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8)! Meditate on these and the many other scriptures that tell you how precious you, His masterpiece of creation, are to Him. God wants YOU to know that HE LOVES YOU!

As Christians we may not feel any more holy, smart, merciful or powerful than we did before we accepted Jesus—but God’s Word says we are new people, new creations even! It’s vital to read the New Testament to discover the amazing truth of how God sees you as His child, so you can learn to live there confidently. Live where? In the land of forgiven, worthy, loved, accepted, capable, trusted—and that’s just the beginning!

You can actually enjoy the process of going through tough moments by looking for the good in them. The things you can change, by all means change, but the things you cannot change should not have the ability to dominate your life!