#ARISE WORTHY

By: Kolleen Lucariello

In October, we dropped the anchor of God's sovereignty and explored the concept of his providential will. We examined God's sovereign nature as it pertains to his omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, as well as our need to be fully reliant on Him.

As we introduce November's theme, #AriseWorthy, we tackle another aspect of God's sovereign nature—his permissive will. In one of his podcasts, Graham Cooke suggested that while God is sovereign and in control of everything, he is only in charge of us. How? His permissive will permits humans to exercise free will. Even when it leads to choices and actions that are not ideal or even righteous. God's in charge of you, but he's only in control when you allow his will to override yours.

The decision to veto his will for our own can plant seeds of regret. However, the decision someone else makes to veto his will for their own can plant seeds of pain. As much as it hurts to admit, everything in our life: the good, the bad and the ugly, is Father filtered.

Quite frankly, It's hard for me to wrap my mind around the reality of what God will tolerate because of his permissive will. Think of it, satan was able to attack Job and Joseph was allowed to be sold by his brothers into slavery. And Jesus. I often wonder how God was able to restrain himself when his precious Son endured the brutality of his execution. Can you imagine? The cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans at that time was crucifixion, reserved for the worst of criminals, and God's permissive will gave consent.

This puts me in quite a pickle whenever I try to reconcile why bad things happen to good people. If his Son was permitted to endure slander, shame, betrayal and death what might his permissive will allow in my life? Betrayal by someone once considered a close friend? Public ridicule and shaming over a difference of opinion and thoughtful conviction? Slander through the lips of a jealous and discontented rival? Peter warns us, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12, NET).

His warning reminds us that evil has always been permitted to have a voice and when it speaks we have free will to choose our response. Believe me, the enemy is hoping we will choose a perspective that will carry us far enough away from God that we become disgruntled, discontent, and before too long—devalued. He hoped to break Jesus by challenging his identity; he will do the same to us. Take away trust and what do you have left?

Yet, Jesus never took the bait. Instead, he kept his perspective on his kingdom identity and his purpose on the Father’s will. He refused to find his worth in what people said or thought about him. He understood the authority the Father had given him. Even when following the plan placed his feet on a road that led to a cross He never doubted his worth to his Father. The cross did not diminish Jesus' value, it actually was the opposite.

I want to be more like Jesus, but it's at this crossroad where I can be misled. When suffering seems harsh and inappropriate, I become pinned under a crushing weight of unworthiness where I am challenged by self-worth. In my worst moments, I listen to the whispering lies that diminish a healthy evaluation of self for an unhealthy one. After all, "if God loved me then I wouldn't...." The lie whispers that this shouldn't happen to ...me. If God cares about me or sees me, the lie whispers, then he will fix my suffering. I wonder why I believe I should be exempt from suffering if Jesus wasn't.

This is the lie that it's time to replace with truth. If we assume that a life in Christ should be free from pain and suffering we have become a target for misplaced worth. God never established our value based on our circumstances. It has become a common belief for many that our worth is secure when built on achievements, appearance, or the approval of others. Live here and your worth becomes performance based. You risk devaluation every time you don't measure up to a standard that is constantly changing. How can we possibly find security here? Eventually, we begin to evaluate self through a lens focused on perceived flaws and failures. Then, insecurities become the defining traits that lead to negative self-talk.

It's time to challenge what has become common. We can no longer allow our sense of worth to be determined by anything other than a Sovereign God who turns graves into gardens. Make no mistake, your slow downs and wrong turns can't stop what God has planned for you—unless you allow failures and flaws to define you and negative self-talk to sabotage you. When evil challenges your identity, plant your feet firmly in this truth: You have great worth to God. Through Jesus Christ, you have been given a kingdom identity. Jesus made a way for us to be received as worthy. He became one of us so we could be one of His. "Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan" (Ephesians 1:11, NLT).

It's time to release yourself from the prison of unworthiness. Your miscues and missteps have never limited God's ability to bring beauty from ashes. Come home to the Father and #AriseWorthy.

PS - this is a great song to get deep inside of you: Truth by Megan Woods