Most of us hate feeling powerless; and, indeed, it is not very good for us – especially for extended periods of time. It can lead to depression, anxiety, outbursts of anger, alienation from others, physical symptoms; and, in its trauma form, it can lead to the symptoms of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD (e.g. nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, and loss of concentration or memory to name a few).

Sometimes powerlessness comes from circumstances we have little or no control over. Other times it comes from the consequences of our actions. The latter can be even more frustrating because we may say, “I could have done something different“. We ruminate and replay the situation over and over. This can be helpful if we can process it into lessons learned, insight, awareness about others or ourselves, and character growth.

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Several years ago, I spoke with a young woman who was having trouble believing how valuable and precious she was. She, like so many, had an abusive past, which affected how she saw herself. As I listened to her, an image came to me that I truly believe was from the Lord.

I asked her to imagine a pile of gold in front of us. Someone could come along and spit on the gold, or call it ugly names, or walk all over it; but nothing or no one could change the fact that in its essence it is pure gold.

In the same way, no matter what we’ve been called, what we’ve done, or what’s been done to us, the truth is that we are far more precious than gold; in fact, to God the Father, we are worth the precious blood of His own Son. In Christ we are God’s Beloved.

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Everyone ever born has a human mother and father, right? Almost. There are three exceptions: Adam and Eve, and Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

The opening chapter of Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, consists of an extensive genealogy. You may consider genealogies dull, and maybe skipped right to chapter two. But, there’s gold there if you’ll mine for it.

Matthew’s goal is to show us that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, a direct descendent of both Abraham, Israel’s father, and David, its greatest king. Along the way, Matthew mentions forty-two fathers and five mothers.

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The prophet Malachi brought a message of hope to a nation that knew repeated failure.  After being restored to their homeland, the Jews had forgotten the one who had delivered them.  We often make the same kind of mistake.  As soon as we overcome our pressing problems, we forget the one who delivered us from them – God.  Without a continued relationship with God, our hope of sustaining spiritual growth is slim at best.  You and I need to keep our eyes on God, the source and means for our continued spiritual growth.

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Situations that are out of your control will show whether you’re operating with pride and self-sufficiency, or with humility and dependence on God.  If you’re willing to humbly depend on God and recognize you inability to handle everything on your own, you’ll see the power of God bring great changes in your life.

The experience of a man named Naaman illustrates how this is true.  Naaman was a powerful military and political figure, a man of wealth, position, and power.  He also had leprosy, an incurable disease that would slowly destroy his body.  Lepers were made outcasts from their families and society.  Ultimately, they faced a slow, painful, and disgraceful death.

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