Feeling Invisible?

For God bought you with a high price. 1 Corinthians 6:20 NLT

The sick feeling that I might never see my wedding ring again intensified by the minute. Fighting the urge to panic, I faintly recollected that while driving to a grocery store that morning, at a stoplight I had taken it off of my finger to apply hand lotion. Did I forget to put it back on? Did it stay on my lap for the entire drive and fall off in the parking lot when I stepped out of the car? God forbid!

Gripped by the possibility of that situation and realizing that it was now seven hours since, I grabbed my purse, jumped behind the wheel, and stepped on the gas. In desperation, I prayed, begged, and pleaded that I would set my eyes on it again. Replacing it would be costly. But living with the guilt of my irresponsibility would be worse. 

The 15 minutes to get there was pure agony. I hopped out of the car, got on all fours, and the hot gravel sank into my palms and knees. I looked like a fool but I peered under each parked car and checked every inch of that dusty lot. My unbelieving eyes finally fell on a shimmering diamond ring! Yes! It was my wedding ring. The ring that my husband and I had bought for our seventh wedding anniversary. The ring that had at times provoked compliments even from total strangers. The same ring I thought I would never see again.

Relieved beyond words, I drove home with tears running down my cheeks, happily clinging to that precious rock. I promised God and myself that I would never be this careless again. But in spite of my relief, I could not escape the nagging thought that my beautiful ring had actually sat there all day, ignored, lost, unnoticed, and unwanted.

Years later, I too felt like a diamond ring. Not the kind displayed in a jewelry store under bright lights, encased in soft velvet and gazed upon by ready buyers. But a diamond ring that is forgotten, misplaced, and gathering dust. Then on one particular day for no apparent reason, I received so much affirmation that I felt loved, valued, and important. I felt alive. I wanted to treasure that day forever and relive its moments over and over again. But in the hours that followed, the Lord reminded me that it is not the praise of man or the bright lights I stand under that determine my value. It is who I am intrinsically. I have the same value whether I am in the light or the shadow. I have the same value whether noticed or unnoticed. I possess the same value whether affirmed or disregarded. A diamond remains a diamond whether on the floor of a parking lot or on a pedestal in a jeweler’s window. 

Can you relate? Satan even came to Jesus at an opportune time and questioned His worth. “If you are the Son of God, then... ” (Matthew 4:3 NKJV italics mine). But unshakably grounded in His Father’s love, Jesus shot back without a flicker of doubt, “It is written….”  

This same enemy, the father of lies, still moseys around probing, inquiring, and interrogating your worth. “If you are ________, then ________” This is especially true for some of us who are going through a season in life feeling invisible. Take heart. Your worth has not diminished and never will. You have been bought with a price, with the precious blood of Christ. You are that much valuable! (1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV, 1 Peter 1:18-19 NKJV) 

Never allow the affirmation and approval of man to replace the confidence and knowledge that God wants you to have within yourself of who you are in Him. As you become established in the truths of what God’s Word says about you, you will discover that your value is intrinsic and not dependent on external factors that seek to define your worth. 

Copyright © 2017 Jane Samuel. Used by permission.