Where Does our Value Lie?

Our generation has become so obsessed with social media that it has become a part of us. I mean don't get me wrong, social media can be great! However, we are so obsessed with it that sometimes we base our value on how many likes our Instagram picture got, how many people swiped right on us on tinder, how many people retweeted us. I think we have forgotten where our true value lies. Our true value lies with God. He loves us more than we could ever imagine no matter how we look. If we wake up with messy hair and hair stuck to our mouths, he still loves us. If we look totally on point that day he still loves us. There is nothing that we can do to make him love us less. He loves us regardless of our weight, hair color, or how on point our outfit is. Friends, boyfriends, girlfriends will come and go in our lifetime but God is in our lives for good. He says he will never leave us nor forsake us. Even when we can't find words to speak to explain to someone God knows how to help.
So, next time you think you're not the most attractive person just because someone didn't swipe right on you on tinder, or you didn't get a ton of likes on an Instagram post remember: You have SO much value in Gods eyes! We have to learn to love ourselves before we can give love to someone else. Everyone has flaws and imperfections no matter how much they deny it. All your flaws are what make you human. We have to learn to love our flaws, they're part of who we are. If we are searching for ourselves on social media chances are we aren't going to be successful at finding ourselves. To find ourselves we have to love our flaws. As Christians, our identity lies in Christ.“If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.” (Matthew 10:39 MSG) So if we are searching for our identity in worldly things we will truly struggle with finding ourselves. But by putting God first not only do we find him but we also find ourselves. God knows the plans that he has for us, plans for love, a career, a family, friendships, and finances. When we put God first instead of ourselves everything falls into place. That's not to say there won't be any worry or stress and it will be the easiest thing in the world, but when we relinquish control to God our lives become so much better!
One thing I struggle with relinquishing control of is my love life. Ring by spring is a big deal and I'm pretty dead set on wanting to be engaged by the time I graduate from ACU. This may not be the plan God has for me however, he may plan for me to meet the person I'm supposed to marry in Grad school and that's okay. At the end of the day we don't really have as much control over our lives as we think we do, which is reassuring in a way. God already knows what will happen in our lives, who we will marry, how many children we will have, what type of career we will have. We just have to trust in HIM. 
At the end of the day our lives are not about us, they're about God and giving him all the glory because without him we would be nothing. God will use us in ways that we could never even imagine. As Rick Warren says in his book The Purpose-Driven Life, you are not an accident and you matter! You matter to God and you matter to so many people on this earth. So next time you're feeling you have no value or you're not good enough remember that God created you for a purpose and you are not an accident.The following is a ted talk by Rick Warren on his book the Purpose-Driven Life that I really recommend watching.