Declared, Precious, and Honored - The Crosswalk Devotional - September 15

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Declared, Precious, and Honored
By: Jennifer Slattery

Bible Reading:
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life. - Isaiah 43:4, NIV

Do you ever feel like a burden, unimportant, or insufficient? Maybe you’re a parent of an adult child, and you wonder if your son or daughter truly wants to hang out with you. Or maybe they’re in that young adult phase where, developmentally, they’re figuring out who they are, and are forging new relationships and, for a time, separating from you. And maybe that feels like a rejection that triggers negative self-talk. Or maybe there’s another relationship that doesn’t quite feel emotionally safe or reciprocal. Those circumstances can leave us feeling insignificant and unvalued.

I understand how that feels. For much of my life, I battled feelings of insecurity and wounds that challenged my ability to see myself as valuable, let alone precious. Yet, that’s precisely how God sees me. Even on my worst, most sinful and emotionally dysregulated days, He calls me precious.

I say that based on the context surrounding today’s verse and all that was occurring with the nation of Israel when God first spoke these words through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. God’s people had rebelled against Him for generations to worship idols. They abandoned the Lord who watched over them, loved, protected, and guided them. The people resorted to violence, oppressed and used one another, and perpetuated injustice. For centuries, the Lord urged them to return to Him and live in the freedom for which He created them, but they refused. 

This grieved the Lord. 

The very fact that He addressed their sin through numerous prophets and in many chapters shows how much He longed for a restored relationship with them and for them to love one another well. For His kids to stop abusing His kids. 

Listen to His heart, expressed to His rebellious children, in Isaiah 30:18:

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. (NASB)

Then, about 12 chapters later, He promised to send His Son who, according to Isaiah 42:3, would show gentleness to those weighed down by their burdens and who felt ready to break. 

Then we get to Isaiah 43, one of my favorite passages in Scripture because it reminds me that we’re never alone in our chaos, even when we’ve landed in messes of our own making. 

Intersecting Life & Faith:

God remains with us when we feel like we’re drowning, and He promises He won’t let the waves overtake us. Why? Because we are precious to Him. He calls us precious when we faithfully read our Bibles, pray, serve in ministry, and regularly attend church. He also calls us precious when we react out of fear or frustration, give in to our pride, and do and say things that cause our friends and loved ones pain. Obviously, He doesn’t condone our sin, but neither is that all He sees, when He looks at us. Instead, He sees our redemption and the righteousness of Christ. He remembers when He knit us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), took our first steps, made our first friend, and first received His gift of life.

When He gazes upon me and you, His deeply flawed but deeply loved children, He also sees our potential—who, by His grace, we’ll one day become. 

And He calls us precious. Rare, valuable, costly, and highly esteemed. Men and women He cherishes, carries, and protects. People He loved so much, He sent His Son to free us from the mess we’ve all, collectively created.

How does that truth hit? The wounded parts of me find this surprising, but I’m learning to cast aside all the lies I’ve absorbed about myself and to live more firmly anchored in the truth my Father proclaims. Because He alone has the authority to determine our value, and again, He says we’re precious. Lord, help us to receive your words as truth. If this is something you struggle with, I invite you to read through my upcoming Bible Reading plan on identity titled, Embracing Your True Self: Living in Your Christ-Centered Identity, coming soon to the YouVersion Bible app.

Further Reading:
1 Peter 2:9-10
Isaiah 49:16
Luke 12:6-7

Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Jasmin Ne 

Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com.

She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.

Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com! 

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