Extraordinary Value
A few years ago, an issue of Coin World carried exciting news for coin collectors: The Philadelphia mint had a printing problem on a number of 1995 pennies. The result? The words “Liberty” and “In God” are out of focus. Surprisingly, this mistake makes the coins more valuable than their street worth. Early estimates reported each penny could be worth somewhere between $175 and $225!
Think of the above illustration in light of the way God views you. Instead of getting frustrated the next time you have a bad hair day, try to focus on your value instead. Maybe there are more serious problems on which to focus your attention. Is there someone in your church, youth group, or school with serious health problems? For the teen girl or guy who has the rare disease alopecia (which involves losing one’s hair), a bad hair day would be a welcome event. Even having hair would be a tremendous blessing!
Maybe your friend has a rebellious brother, an unwed pregnant sister, or an uncle who’s battling cancer. It’s hard to help others see that these trials and hardships can actually have positive value. It’s especially hard when you fail to see the value in your own hard times or blunders. But when you focus on the positive, your friends will be more inclined to do the same.
Will you allow God to transform the mistakes and failures in your life into something valuable? You see, God has the divine power to make good things happen out of your mistakes. He can turn a disaster into a blessing . . . if you’ll let him. He wants to use your hurt, your past, and your failures to help someone else who may be struggling with the same thing.
If your heart has been broken, you’ll never laugh at someone else in pain. If you’ve ever failed at something important to you, you’ll never be happy about a disaster in someone else’s life. If you’ve ever been wrong about something, you realize you don’t have the right to gloat about an error you see in someone else’s thinking. If you’ve ever realized how serious your personal sin is, you’ll find it impossible to be arrogant and judgmental about another’s sin. And if you’ve received God’s forgiveness, you’ll be gracious to those around you.
Know It!
Surrendering every situation to the Lord is the only way to turn lead into gold, pain into joy, and defeat into victory. Let him transform your weaknesses into his strengths.
Read It!
2 Corinthians 10:17-18; 11:24-30; 12:9; Ephesians 1:17-19
Pray It!
Ask God to help you see the positive value in your mistakes.