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“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 4:29, NIV)
What matters most to you? What holds value in your heart and mind?
This concept can be a little tricky. Where you place value is not simply what you feel most confident or secure in, or even what you’re self-conscious or insecure about. What and where you place value is the priority list you keep in your brain. It’s the things or people you’re willing to invest in or the things you believe that if you achieve, you will be more successful or better off.
We all have things we value, which is good! Our values contribute so much to who we are and what makes us unique, quirky and different from one another. For example, a friend of mine loves interior design. She says, “the venue writes the script,” meaning that the environment of a room has the ability to directly impact the experience had within the room, the conversation, the bond and whether all parties enjoyed themselves.
This friend won’t stop decorating or rearranging the room until it’s perfect, from the wall decor, bed pillows to the overall ambiance of the room. She wants to create the perfect environment. She has placed value in creating a home where people feel welcomed and comfortable.
Her roommate, on the other hand, lands on the complete other side of the pendulum. She couldn’t care less about what her room looks like. Not to say she’s messy or uncreative, rather, she invests more of herself and her time in experiences and activities that occur outside of the room. She loves traveling, keeping busy and is always on the hunt for the next adventure. That’s where she places value.
This is just one example of the differences in values, but there are so many more. Consider this: What has the ability to take you as high as the sky and then plunge you into the depths of the sea? Whatever that is, whether it’s your academics, career, relationships or your image, that’s where you place value. Ask God to reveal this to you and He surely will. You may be surprised at what you discover.
Reflect on the things that you make you happy and that have the ability to turn your day completely around. Is it when someone compliments your outfit? When that special someone talks to you? When you receive a good grade?
Now, reflect on the things that make you doubt yourself, overthink situations or feel anxious? Is it when you go through your whole day without anyone complimenting your outfit? Or when that special someone neglects to talk to you? What about when you receive a bad grade?
Of course, life gives us things that make us happy and also things that upset us, but try and identify the things that you place value in. What in your life makes the distinction from a good day to a bad one?
Now imagine if we all placed value in who God is. We would be unshakeable because He is unshakeable. If we were to put all the effort into our relationship with Him, instead of the other things or people we typically place an unhealthy amount of value in, we may find ourselves in a much more peaceful state of mind. Our priorities and hopes would be set on Him, which we already know never disappoints.
Take some time to evaluate your heart and consider the things that you’ve begun to place too much value in. Begin to shift that value into your faith and relationship with the Lord. I promise, your life will never look or feel the same!
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