You're Worth Far More Than Rubies

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

How many times have we tried to be good enough, pretty enough, and smart enough for others? Have we invested more of our time towards building our outer image rather than our inward heart? 

It's easy to place value on what our eyes can see, but true beauty cannot always be seen from the eyes. Rubies are found to be of value because they are pleasing to the eyes, but according to God, we are worth far more than rubies. 

How?

Because of our love and fear of the Lord. 

A noble character can only be developed from one's fear of the Lord. 

Proverbs 31:30 says, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." There is nothing more important in this world than our relationship and love for the Lord. When you have truly loved the Lord you will automatically fear him out of reverence, and When you truly love the Lord you will automatically fear him out of reverence, and from there you will start to develop your noble character.

Both men and women in the Bible who were of noble character could be trusted by others. Proverbs 31 talks more about the noble women and says in verse 11, "Her husband has full confidence in her

    and lacks nothing of value." Your fear of the Lord and noble character will be valued by others and take you far in life. 

Have you forgotten where your true value is found? Don't let the things of this world devalue what you have in Christ. Your true value is found only in Christ. Those who fear the Lord have a hidden beauty that surpasses all. 

You don't need to try so hard to be perfect on the outside. 

You're worth far more than rubies despite your flaws and imperfections. 

Find a spouse who will value your fear in the Lord and see your hidden beauty. Find that someone who will see you as worth far more than rubies. 

Cherish what you have in the Lord and hold on to him always. 

You're worth far more than rubies. 

Have You Lost Touch To Love?

We all know what love is, but have we truly grasped what it means to love? It's easy to let our selfishness get in the way of loving others that we lose the impact of love. Have you lost touch to love? 

My recent trip to Asia has been amazing.

The food, scenery, and mini get away were all great, but what really made my trip amazing was the love I experienced from the people in Asia.

I saw my family in Asia go out of their way to plan my visit there and made sure I experienced the best that Asia had to offer. I met friends who would sacrifice their time and money to treat me out and even met random people who would do the slightest things to brighten my day.

What kind of love did I experience that made my trip so amazing? Sacrificial love.

God opened my eyes to see how impactful love can be. In that moment of reflecting on the love I experienced at Asia, God reminded me of a greater love that I had which was from Jesus. Jesus showed his love to us by sacrificing his own life so that we could have eternal life and joy forever. Jesus left us an example of sacrificial love so that we too could love others sacrificially.

The best gift you can give someone today is sacrificial love. 

John 15:13 says, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." This verse shows that love is willing to sacrifice without any benefits or reasons but simply for the sake of love. God has given us the gift of love to touch lives. There is no greater love than the love of sacrifice.

I'll admit, I've lost touch to love. I've been so consumed with loving myself that I had no more room to love others. My trip to Asia inspired me to love again and reminded me of Christ's own sacrificial love for me.

God never planned for us to live selfishly. When we spend time loving ourselves we leave no room to love others. God wants us to be overwhelmed by his love so that we could extend love to others. Just as God's love has the power to change us, so does our love have the power to change others lives.

When we open our eyes to see how Christ loves us, we then can love others. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us."

Have you lost touch with what love is really all about? Who is God calling you to sacrificially love? We can choose to ignore others and live a life that pleases ourselves, but we will miss out on experiencing the true joy of love. Not only is it a blessing to receive love, but it is also a blessing to be able to give love.

God has amazing plans to use our sacrificial love to transform lives. Will you let God use your life to help others? When we love as God loves, we show others a glimpse of God's beauty. So remember, don't lose touch to love.

Prayer: Lord, help me to love others as you have loved me. 

Rejection Isn't Always Bad

Who doesn't hate rejection? We all want to be good enough, accepted, and loved but when faced with rejection, it can be easy to feel worthless and disqualified. While rejection may seem like a bad thing, it isn't always the case. Rejection isn't always bad.

I've probably experienced more rejection than I've experienced actual success. I could have stopped right when I got rejected, but if I had done that I wouldn't be where I am today.

I remember the day God clearly called me into writing, but the circumstances that I faced during that time seemed to tell me the opposite. I would submit my blogs to many magazines and online blogs asking to be a guest blogger, but I would get countless rejection emails or simply get ignored. I also wasn't getting many followers on social media.

To put it in short, I felt rejected.

I remember at one point I cried and told God, why have you called me into writing? I'm not even good enough, and no one seems to think so as well. But it was in that moment when God reminded me that I didn't have to be good enough because he was good enough.

Fast forward to today, I am thankful that I trusted God and dedicated myself into where he has called me. I've received countless messages from people all over the world telling me how God has touched and spoken to their lives through my blogs.

I've seen God continuously grow Living Revelations and I give the all the credit to him alone. If I hadn't experienced the rejection, I'd probably think I got where I am today because of myself and not God. We are only called to plant and water seeds, but God makes all things grow (1 Corinthians 3:6).

Just because your calling has been rejected by others does not mean it has been rejected by God. 

There are many examples of people in the Bible who experienced rejection before they were greatly used by God. Moses was called by God to be the leader and deliverer of the Israelites, yet he was first rejected by his own people. Acts 7:35 says, “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself.."

Joseph is another example from the Bible who was chosen by God to be ruler over Egypt, yet was initially rejected by his brothers. Both Joseph and Moses were rejected by man, but chosen by God. You might be rejected by others, but remember that you are chosen by God and that is what validates your call. God's acceptance is what validates your calling. 

Isaiah 41:9 says, “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” No matter how far you've gone or how rejected you may feel, remember that God has chosen you and called you to serve him in your own unique way. Trust in what God has called you to, and hold on to his promise that he has chosen you and not rejected you.

What purpose has God called you to do? If you're feeling discouraged from any rejection, remember that God has not rejected you and put your trust in him. God wants you to know that it's not by your strength, but by his strength that you can do what he has called you to do.

God will allow you to go through trials and rejections to test and strengthen your faith in him. God wants our faith to be strengthened, and the only way it can be strengthened is when it is tested. Lysa Terkeurst who is now the founder of Proverbs 31 Ministries and New York Times Best-selling author started off with countless rejections. She got rejected from many publishers with her "The Best Yes" book before it became a New York Times Best Selling book.

Don't let rejection stop you. Look for validation in God alone and know that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13). So remember, rejection isn't always bad.

Prayer: Lord, I may be rejected by others, but I know I am chosen and loved by you. 

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