Don't Lose Heart By Jason MeyerSýnishorn

What to Do When You Feel Worthless

Discouragement is like a pair of sunglasses that makes all of life seem darker. When we are discouraged, we often take our unflattering personal reflections and transfer those dark thoughts and feelings to God. We make the faulty assumption that “God must look at me the way I look at me.”

Take a moment and examine your self-talk or your inner dialogue. What kinds of things do you say to yourself on a regular basis? Consider whether your self-talk includes negative statements, such as “I’m not smart enough.” “I’m just going to fail anyway.” “I’m a loser.” “No one will ever love me.” I am still shocked by my own self-talk. I speak very harshly to myself, saying things that I would never say to anyone else.

We need to lay down the weapons that we aim at ourselves and check our stories against God’s story. We can either project onto God what we think about ourselves or we can receive from God what He says about us. 

Where do we go to check our misguided beliefs and hear God’s version? The full story can be found in God’s Word. Why did God save us and give us new life? This text answers that question with bold clarity that heralds God’s heart: “Because of the great love with which He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4). God did not love us because we were lovely. He loved us because God is love, and He chose us as His children.

Perhaps you struggle to feel the fact of God’s love. Does your lack of feeling make God’s love any less real? The Bible points us to the external testimony of God’s love found in the cross of Christ. Romans 5:8 says, “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Remember, God did not love you and me because we were lovely. He loved us while we were still sinners—morally unlovely. Whenever you feel the talons of discouragement sinking into your heart, look to the cross and see the unchanging, unshakable, irreversible love of God as Jesus bore the burden of sin for you and suffered in your place. He was condemned so that you could be accepted. In Christ, the banner flying high over you says “no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1).

What does your self-talk/inner dialogue reveal to you? Is this accurate with how God sees you?