“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (Psalm 33:16-19).

How do you measure your importance? Probably not by the size of your army or the wealth of your horse stables. Perhaps not even by your physical strength. But most of us have ways of gauging our relative strength and importance when it comes to other people: cars, position in our company, disposable income, cultural awareness, the bands we listen to, our witty conversation, how well we are known in the social circles that are important to us—maybe our church or civic organizations. We may look at others and rank their strength and worth in comparison to our own. Sometimes we seem to come out ahead. Other times we feel sure that we fall short. 

Here’s a different measurement system to try. Hold all you have—or don’t have—up to the Lord as an offering of love. Give it all to him—strengths and weaknesses. Stop checking to see how you (or someone else) measures up. Instead, fix your gaze on Christ.

He keeps you physically and spiritually, in feast or famine, success or failure. As an integral individual in his kingdom, you are a great treasure. He delivers you and delights over you right now and always.