OVERCOMING FEELINGS OF WORTHLESSNESS

BIBLE PASSAGE:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my 
presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your 
salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to 
will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. 
(Philippians 2:12-13)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever gone through times when you felt that you had no purpose in life?
Maybe you feel that way now, but if you have been saved 
and are a member of God’s family, you will always have a purpose.
Why? Because God has a purpose for all who belong to Him.
Not only that, but He is our helper (‘works in you’) in fulfilling His purpose.

Imagine for a moment that with the billions of people in the world, God has 
singled out very believer (including you) for a specific purpose for Him.
We are not spectators, but participants in His earthly ministry!
Some may think, “That sounds like I have to do something”.
Of course that’s true, but when God carves out something for us to do, 
we can be sure that it will give us a feeling of worth and purpose, 
and we will be blessed for our efforts.

Paul encouraged the Christians in Philippi (and us) 
to continue being obedient to God.
Obedience includes obeying His plan for us to fulfill His ‘good purpose’.
What God has designed is ‘good’ 
and has a ‘purpose’ – what can be better than that?
Salvation is a gift of God’s grace 
and fulfilling His purpose is one of the blessings associated with His gift.

Another comment from Paul is to ‘work out your salvation’.
Some may misinterpret that to mean that salvation is through works,
but nothing could be further from the intent of his statement.
The word ‘continue’ used by Paul, means there are some expectations of us 
‘after’ we have been saved, and not that works are a ‘path to salvation’.
When he uses the words ‘fear and trembling’, Paul emphasizes the seriousness, 
passion and dedication we should have to fulfill God’s good purpose.

ACTION:
Have you ever felt that you are in a rut 
which makes you feel worthless and with no purpose in life?
Idleness, discouragement, and depression are all weapons of Satan.
His attacks in these three areas can be deflected when we are 
busy fulfilling God’s ‘good purpose’ designed especially for us.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gift of salvation and for including 
a specific purpose for me as a blessing to enjoy after I have received Your 
salvation. Thank You for Your assurance that You will work in me to 
fulfill Your good purpose. Help me to discover Your purpose for me, 
to yield to Your will, and to passionately and obediently pursue what 
You have designed for me. Thank You for giving me a purpose for living 
that the world cannot match!”

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