Below is a message I gave at my church’s father-daughter dinner, and I thought I would reshare it here. I pray it’s a blessing!

We hear a lot of messages about our worth and identity. 

We’re told that our worth is in being a woman, being a boss babe.  Our worth is in what we do.  Our worth is in how we look, how smart we are, where we go to school, what careers we have, our relationship statuses, how many children we have, what kind of mark we make on the world.  The list is exhausting and endless.  And it doesn’t really answer the question: what makes me valuable?  Because, let’s be honest, a lot of those things that I just listed can change.  Beauty changes as we get older, fashion trends change throughout the years, careers don’t last forever, approval from other people comes and goes and will not provide lasting satisfaction.  And when our insecurities come to the surface, we will still wonder, what makes me valuable? 

As I thought about our worth as young ladies, my mind went back to one of my favorite Scripture passages.  This comes from Isaiah 43.  The Lord is talking to His people, the nation of Israel, but today I want you to listen to this as a message from the Lord to you.  Listen to how valuable you are to our Lord:

But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. “For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west. “I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” Isaiah 43:1-7

Did you hear that?  God says, “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you…”

Ladies, God loves you.  He loves you so much that He says, “Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”  Do you realize, that you were worth so much to God, that He really did give someone else in your place?  God gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, in your place, to pay the price for your sins, for the ways you have disobeyed God, so that you could be restored into a right relationship with God, our heavenly Father.  You are precious to God.  He paid a high price to bring us back to Himself.  If you have not accepted Christ’s gift of salvation and become adopted into God’s family, today is the day to turn away from disobeying God, to step down from being the ruler of your life, and to let God be the King of your heart. 

God says, “You are Mine!”  We are His daughters.  He is not a distant force that kind of holds this world together; He is a perfect Father who calls us loved and precious, and He wants to be involved in your life.  You are His.  When something belongs to us, like a stuffed animal or nice jewelry, we cherish it, we take care of it, we protect it.  It means something to us because it’s ours.  That is how God feels about you.  You are cherished, cared for, and protected. 

God says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”  God promises to walk with us through life, the good times and the bad times.  He is near and with us.  He rejoices with us when we’re excited and He cries with us when we’re sad.  He is with us, ready to hold our hand, even carry us, through the hills and valleys of life.  And there will be hills and valleys.  There will be joyful times, and there will be hard times.  God does not promise to take away all the hard stuff from our lives, but He does say, “I will be with you.”  He says, “Do not fear, for I am with you.”  We can trust God no matter what comes, because He will always walk with us. 

Lastly, God says you are “created for My glory.”  This word “glory” as used in the Bible means honor, splendor, dignity, reputation, or reverence.  As a part of the worth that we have in Christ, God gave us a specific job to do, and that job is to display His glory, or His splendor, dignity, and honor to the world.  We give Him reverence and point people to Him.  Every one of you has the privilege of bringing glory to God by how you live—it doesn’t matter how old your young you are, if you’re tall or short, if you go to college or not; wherever you live, whatever you do, you have been created for God’s glory.  We exist to know God and make Him known.  And you can do that right now!  You don’t have to wait until you’re a grown up or a teenager or until you know a certain number of Bible verses.  Right now you have a very special job, and this job lasts your whole life!  You get to glorify God every day.  It’s the most important job you’ll ever have. 

To sum up, what is your worth? 

You are precious in God’s sight; you are honored, and He loves you.  You belong to God, which means that He cherishes, cares for, and protects you.  God walks with you through the highs and lows of life.  And you have been created for God’s glory.  This is your worth in Christ. 

With love,

Kelsey