![]() “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.” -1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Do you ever feel discouraged by who you are? In a world that places so much emphasis on beauty, wealth, degrees, pedigree, and so many other superficial and fading things, it’s often very difficult to measure up. When you are rather ordinary, it’s easy to be discouraged by simply being ordinary. When you don’t have what the world says you should, it’s easy to feel like you are nothing and that you have failed before you have ever started. I {Alayna}lived a lot of life feeling like I “counted as nothing at all”. From the outside, I was doing just fine, but inside I felt like I never measured up. I’m not even sure I could articulate the standard that I wasn’t measuring up to, but I know that I felt unimportant, uninfluential, and more of a bother than anything good. The culture and media tell you that beauty and wealth reign supreme, and people who buy into their rhetoric tell you more of the same, but the reality of God’s economy is so much different than the reality of the world we live in. After God saved me, He had a lot of healing in my heart and mind to do. He had to change how I saw myself in light of His Son’s sacrifice for me, rather than in light of how I didn’t measure up to the cultural standard. The verses in 1 Corinthians quoted above are some of my favorite when it comes to obliterating the cultural standard. Yes, I may not be wise, powerful or wealthy in the world’s eyes, but God intentionally chooses that which the world finds powerless, despised, and foolish to do His purposes. He intentionally chooses me, knowing that I am powerless and foolish. He intentionally chooses me, even though I am not the world’s favorite darling. I am nothing in the economy of this world, but in God’s economy – I’m chosen, and God will use me. What a beautiful thought. What a beautiful truth. What a beautiful way to toss out the world’s standard of beauty, wealth and wisdom, in favor of God’s status of being foolish, powerless, despised in the eyes of the world and yet chosen by the creator and sustainer of the universe. Are you struggling with feeling less than? Do you feel despised and foolish, never measuring up to the wealth, beauty and wisdom that the world holds in high esteem? Read and meditate on the verses cited above, and thank God for being chosen by Him to shame and bring to nothing the things the world holds dear.
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She Heard/Mandy Pagano makes no representations or warranties in relation to this website or the information and materials provided therein, and will not be liable to you in relation to the contents of or use of this website for any indirect, special or consequential loss. Nothing on this website constitutes or is meant to constitute advice of any kind. If you require advice in relation to any legal, financial, medical or psychological matter, you should consult an appropriate professional.
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