Do You Feel Worthless Illustration

Do You Feel Worthless (No Value)?
by David M. Trexler

Do you sometimes feel worthless because of the kind of job you have, the way you look, the way people treat you, or because of deafness? Do you sometimes feel that God does not love you because of your sins or your bad family history, such as divorce or alcoholism? Feeling worthless is a common problem for every person. No person escapes this negative feeling.

Some persons successfully learn to overcome the negative feeling about themselves. But, sad to say, many people accept the idea that they are worthless. What happens to most people who believe they are worthless? They do not care about themselves. They do many wrong things hoping to make themselves feel better. Is there any hope for us to overcome our feeling of worthlessness?

Yes, there is hope for all who experience negative feelings about themselves. There was a woman who was called worthless in Jesus' time, but she had great faith in God. We can learn a valuable lesson from her.

"A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him [Jesus], crying out, 'Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.' Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him [Jesus] and urged him, 'Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.' He [Jesus] answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.' The woman came and knelt before him [Jesus]. 'Lord, help me!' she said. He [Jesus] replied, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.' 'Yes, Lord,' she said, 'but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered, 'Woman, you have great faith! Your request is grant.' And her daughter was healed from that very hour" (Matthew 15:22-28, NIV).

This woman was a Gentile, not Jewish. She was a foreigner. In Jesus' days the Jews believed that all Gentiles were worthless people and should not receive God's blessings. People of that day also thought women were less valuable than men. Women were "non-persons." They did not have rights, as women have today.

The point of this story is that this woman whom the Jews rejected, especially Jesus' disciples, did not give up her hope. The woman did not let the strong prejudice of the Jews toward women and Gentiles, or the wrong concept of God, stop her from seeing Jesus. She believed that Jesus was the Messiah. She had true faith in Him. Because of faith, she did not let the negative feelings of worthlessness prevent her from seeking Jesus' help. Notice that she accepted being called low class in the human family when Jesus tested her with the word "dogs." The Jews called the Gentiles "dogs." "Dogs" were worthless, but they believed that God would bless them.

This woman passed the test of FAITH! She is called a noble person of high class because of faith in God. She believed that she was worthy. She saw compassion in Jesus.

My friends, if you have a problem with feeling worthless, please remember the faith of this unknown woman. May her example of faith give you hope and encouragement when you feel worthless. Of course, we all are sinners and worthless, but God never stops loving us. "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3, NIV). "God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!" (Romans 5:8, TEV). Wow! What powerful evidence we have that we are worthy of God! Jesus died for everybody, even before we were born!