Self-Love Through God’s Love: A 7-Day Devotional to Uncover Your Worth

Scriptures: Ephesians 3:17-19, Galatians 3:26-29

Welcome to “Self-Love Through God’s Love: A 7-Day Devotional to Uncover Self-Love, God’s Love, and Your Worth”. Often times we overlook the power of our own internal dialogue and the way in which we view ourselves. Self-love and our knowledge of our worth have a tremendous impact on everything that we will ever produce in our lives. 

Divine self-love is being able to acknowledge God’s love and eternal care for you.

Before we can truly love others fully and without reservation, we must first know our own worth through the powerful love that was put into creating us. God made no mistakes when He made you – fearfully and wonderfully. It is time that you see yourself the way He sees you. 

May the knowledge of God’s love for you be a constant reminder to strive to be your best, never settle for less, and walk in your purpose daily. 

Knowing WHO and WHOSE you are is the first step to loving yourself.

Today’s Affirmation: “I am a child of God.”

Message: It is so easy for us to be labeled in this world by worldly standards. We often define ourselves by our profession or what we do: “I am a teacher”; “I am an electrician”; or “I am a student”. We even define ourselves by our affiliations: “I am a [insert organization here]” – or we focus on our gifts: “I am a singer”; “I am a writer”; “I am a speaker”. How do you currently choose to define yourself?A few years ago, I struggled with this question because I had many interests, jobs, responsibilities, and affiliations that I allowed to define me. When we allow the things of this world to define us, as soon as the title changes -the affiliation turns into an affliction, or the gift isn’t working as it should – we lose our sense of self and worth. What happens when the thing that once defined you is removed? Your purpose is removed from it. Now, where do you turn?I’ve experienced having all of the things that I thought once defined me removed. I felt lost, empty, alone, and without purpose. It was certainly not a fun time, but the decluttering was necessary in order to realize that I was placing my hope and building my life on fleeting things. I started to pray to God and began asking Him the questions that I could no longer produce an answer for: Who am I? What is the essence of me? What am I purposed to do? It was during this period that God spoke to me softly, but ever so clearly, “I am a child of God”. 

It now all made sense! None of my previous titles could accurately sum up in totality what defined me because I was placing movable pieces in an unmovable position. My belonging to God is the only thing that could define me because He IS the one who created me. The Creator knows the purpose of His masterpiece – and the same goes for you! God is your unmovable definition. He was with you before you secured all of the titles, jobs, and affiliations – and He will be there long after those things depart. Your belonging to God, being His beloved child, is the foundation of who you are. He will never leave you nor forsake you – even during those moments where you feel the most alone. This single defining Factor (God) is all-encompassing and has the power to fill you with a fullness that could never be replicated by anything or anyone of this world. Knowing WHO and WHOSE you are is the first step to loving yourself fully and unapologetically – this is where your power resides. 

Prayer: Dear God, may I always be reminded of my belonging to you. May I remember that my worth is not defined by a job, relationship, social media, or financial status. My worth, purpose, and success are all defined by You and You alone. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: Ephesians 3:17-19 (NKJV), Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scripture: Psalms 139:13-16

Before the world ever thought of you, God planned for you.

Today’s Affirmation: God made no mistakes when He created me. 

Message: Everything about you was made on purpose. From the crown of your head to the soles of your feet, from that extra kink in your hair to the white of your teeth – God made you with no mistakes. He took His time in creating your one-of-a-kind personality, your likes and dislikes, your strengths and weaknesses, the way you think, your gifts and talents, and your special light that shines like no other. 

No one can do YOU like YOU do. Do you know why? It is because before the world ever thought of you, God planned for you. While you were in your mother’s womb, He was working, intricately stitching you together. Your uniqueness goes far beyond your DNA and is rooted in the depths of God’s love for little ol’ you. 

God created you to love you. At your best and even in your mess, His love for you never changes and will never fail. He sees no regrets when He looks at you. I encourage you to pray to see yourself through the eyes of God. You are a gift that He views with purpose, grace, unconditional love, and mercy. 

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for thinking of me and creating me just the way that I am. I believe that you made me with a purpose for a divine plan. I pray that you open my eyes so that I may see myself the way that you see me. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scripture: Romans 15:13

Your fullness of life is determined by gifts that the world can neither give nor take away.

Today’s Affirmation: My life is full – love, joy, and peace are mine. 

Message: God was intentional when He created you! He has created us for the sole purpose of being a living example of His immense love. You were created to experience the fullness of life. But what is that? We often confuse the true meaning of an eternally “full” life with things that are temporary and will not actually profit us much after this lifetime (money, accolades, material possessions, etc.). The truth is, your fullness of life is determined by gifts that the world can neither give nor take away. 

True love, joy, and peace are gifts that cannot be faked, bought, or easy-baked. The knock-off versions will eventually fade, rust, and break. The majority, if not all, of the problems that we face in this world, are due to misconstrued ideas on what love is, misplaced hope in perishing things that we thought would result in joy, and the undermining of the power that resides within peace. Love, joy, and peace are powerful things to have, but many do not know where to go to acquire them – so they end up substituting with temporary fillers. 

While status, accolades, and material possessions may be a good way to gauge your temporary success in the world, these things are not the “end-all-be-all” to life. Imagine if our bank accounts determined our overall prosperity, then that would mean only 1% of the world would be living a “full life”. Does this mean that the other 99% of the world has no chance of winning in this lifetime? The condition of your heart through your ability to unconditionally love, live in and spread joy, and experience peace is the best way to gauge your eternal success in God’s Kingdom. 

Your fullness of life comes from Christ and is rooted in His power to save, redeem, and exalt in spite of your past decisions, your current obstacles, or the future trials that may come your way. Living in the fullness of life (a life with love, joy, and peace abounding) takes the power of your prosperity out of the world’s perishing hands, and places it back into the hands of The One who adores you more than you will ever know. I pray that you go out today and every day spreading love, choosing joy, and experiencing a peace that surpasses all understanding. You will then truly live in the riches that the world cannot pry and money cannot buy! 

Prayer: Dear God, may I experience a fullness of life that only you can provide. May your love, joy, and peace abound in all that I do. May I see you first before I look to the perishing things of this world for comfort. May I never forget that my eternal power is founded in you alone. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: Romans 15:13(NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

There is strength in our weaknesses.

Affirmation: I am perfectly imperfect. 

Message: Have you ever thought: “I wish I was smarter”, “I wish I was faster”, “I wish I was smaller”, “I wish I was taller”, “I wish I was better like him”, “I wish I could speak like her”, “I wish I was stronger”? Are your thoughts plagued with wishing you could be something that you currently are not? We have all experienced fleeting thoughts of comparison at least once in our lives. It is very easy for us to pick apart ourselves when we focus on our perceivably weak areas. However, our perspective can change if we begin to focus on our weaknesses in relation to Christ. His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. 

Your weaknesses are not a mistake. Your weaknesses are on purpose so that you can be divinely dependent on the Lord to fill your gaps, meet every one of your needs, and truly allow Him to be the only one that makes you whole. Our weaknesses humble us so that we may never exalt ourselves higher than the power of God. Without our weaknesses and flaws, Christ would not have a job – He died in order to make us whole. Imagine if we were without weaknesses – we would be too perfect to fall to sin, untouchable from disease, far removed from poverty, pain, and persecution, too smart to ever need saving, and too confident to suffer from insecurities. If this were the case, would we really need God? 

Our imperfections are one of the most precious parts of God’s beautiful design of man. Our imperfections add to our uniqueness, allow for the building of our character, and give light to our eternal need for a little more Jesus in every aspect of our lives. There is strength in our weaknesses. Our weaknesses are neither a mistake nor a burden, but a divine opportunity for us to be dependent on Christ’s strength and power to heal, save, and restore. 

Prayer: Dear God, I trust you. I trust that you made me perfectly imperfect. I trust that my weaknesses are God-Opportunities for you to do what only you can do in my life. Thank you for being my ever-present strength when I am weak. I am stronger than I appear because of you. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scripture: Luke 16:10

Being whole is dependent on a clear awareness and strong acceptance of self.

Affirmation: I am content with all that I am and all that I am not. 

Message: Being whole is dependent on a clear awareness and strong acceptance of self. The word ‘Content’ is defined as being “satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are”. The ability to be content with yourself depicts your ability to recognize that you were created with specific gifts and a special purpose – you were not created like everyone else, so don’t expect to have the same life, talents, mannerisms, unique swag, and possessions as everyone else. God fearfully and wonderfully made you without mistakes and lack. You currently have everything you will ever need at this moment, but the key is to stay plugged into Him. 

All that you are and all that you are not are both gifts from God. Contentment is not to be confused with complacency either. Complacency is the home of comfort and mediocrity – nothing grows or advances from a state of complacency. Contentment is the home of full acceptance of responsibility of your current portion and is the beginning stage to maturity – when you can be trusted to tend to the little that you already have- THEN God can trust you with more (Luke 16:10). “More” comes after we accept and tend to our current roles and responsibilities with a spirit of excellence. 

Are you content with all that you are and all that you are not? Have you fully accepted yourself with open arms ready and willing to maximize your strengths and work on your current areas of weaknesses? Are you tending to your spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical needs with committed excellence? You will always reap a bountiful harvest when you sow fruitful seeds into good soil with care. Your good soil starts with contentment. Strive to nurture that good soil. Do the internal work. Allow God to mend your areas of brokenness. 

Prayer: Dear God, imprint on my heart and mind the importance of first becoming whole within myself before seeking to be filled with the temporary satisfactions of this world. Teach me how to be faithful to the little things that you have already blessed me with. Teach me how to accept myself for all that I am and all that I am not. My heart is open. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: Luke 16:10 (NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scripture: Matthew 22:36-40

Our outward extension of love is fashioned after our inward practice of love.

Affirmation: I will allow myself to be a recipient of the same standard of love that God has called me to give. 

Message: God’s two greatest commandments that truly summarize everything that we would ever need to know are rooted in love. We are commanded to; 1) love God with our all and 2) love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). We know that we are supposed to love God. We know that we are supposed to love others. But somehow we skip over the daily importance of loving ourselves. How are you truly going to love your neighbor without first loving yourself? You cannot truly love God with your “all” and disregard loving yourself – after all, He lives within you. 

How we love ourselves is more important than how others love us. You must be your biggest cheerleader. Everything that you receive stems from your belief that you are truly able to receive these things. Do not underestimate the power of self-love, empowerment, and encouragement. When you speak life into your atmosphere your perspective and outlook on life will begin to shift. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. What exactly are you speaking over your life? We are called to love others as we love ourselves – which means that our outward extension of love is fashioned after our inward practice of love. What kind of love are you practicing? 

God loves us so much and truly wants us to love what He loves – and this includes ourselves. Allow yourself to be a recipient of the same standard of love that God has called you to give. Speak life over yourself. You are smart. You are talented. You are beautiful. You are kind. You are generous. You are loving. You can achieve all that you have set out to accomplish through Christ. You are the head and not the tail. You are above and not beneath. You are a lender and not a borrower. You are a child of The Most High King. You are filled with promise. You have a divine purpose. You are equipped for ALL that you are called to do. You are saved. You are righteous. You are worth it. You are loved! 

Prayer: Dear God, teach me how to love and receive love your way. Purify my heart and mind so that I may truly know you, love like you, and share this love with others. Open my eyes so that I may see the beauty of your creation living within me. Please forgive me for any negative talk about myself. Please forgive me for settling for less than what you called me to receive. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for loving me without conditions. Thank you for creating me in your image. Open my ears so that I may hear your voice daily. Open my heart so that I may receive your promises. May my security in you outweigh my insecurities. I am your gem and I will love myself as such. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scriptures: Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 61:3

When you are the best ‘you’, everything that you touch will flourish.

Affirmation: I will make time to feed my spirit and fill my cup. 

Message: Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin and pouring from an empty cup? Yeah, you too? There have been many times I had to take some intentional time away from everything and everyone in order to get a hold of life. Life would move too fast and become too heavy for me to keep up with. 

It is easy to feel overwhelmed when we have endless responsibilities and commitments pulling us in different directions. When you start to feel depleted, I encourage you to take a moment and give yourself a chance to regroup. Again, I have been there before – overloaded and stressed. It was hard trying to be everything to everyone and not being enough to myself. Self-love and self-care were the furthest things from my mind. While the desire to give more of myself remained, I knew if I did not take some time to get my mind, body, and spirit I could end up doing more harm than good. I had to stop. 

Life happens very fast and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves writing checks that our personal banks simply cannot cash. While it may be hard saying “no” and taking a step back from doing a billion things at once, it is an even harder fall to the bottom when the ground is ripped from underneath us outside of our control. Do not wait until you have no choice but to break before you take a break. Self-love, self-care, and replenishment should not be the last resort – rather an intentionally planned recurrence. 

When you are your best ‘you’, everything that you touch will flourish. Here is my PSA to you: It is okay to not be okay. It is okay to pause and replenish your cup when you see that you are running low on patience, time, sanity, peace, joy, and love. Take time to unplug from the chaos and distractions of the world. Focus on yourself and plug into God – The only One who can truly fill our gaps and deficiencies. He is able to handle all that we are facing and more. He wants us to come to Him when we are burdened with the weight of life and in turn promises us rest when we fully trust in Him. Allow God to recharge your spirit. He will fill you with new power and discernment to take hold of the call on your life. He will remind you of the greatness that He has created you to be. He will take your burdens and give you an ease and fullness that you never knew possible. Always remember to take the time to pause and replenish. You are worth the effort. 

Prayer: Dear God, please help me discern who and what to give my time to. I want to be all that you have created me to be. Anything that is blocking me from the fulfillment of my purpose – take it away. Anything that is depleting me from being more like you – remove it. Please renew and strengthen my spirit every day. Focus my mind on what really matters. Teach me how to love and honor my temple – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – so that I can operate from a place of fullness. Teach me what it means to rest fully in your presence and peace. In Jesus name, Amen. 

Scripture Focus: Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV), Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – what truth did you uncover today?

Scripture: Psalms 139:13-18

(BONUS DAY)

Daily Affirmation: I am worth the effort. 

Message: While this affirmation may seem obvious, there is tremendous power in this profound statement. I encourage you to take a few minutes a day to sit and reflect on the fact that an immense amount of effort was put into creating you – perfectly designing you from each follicle residing in your head to your one-of-a-kind personality. When you finally realize the careful consideration that was put into making you the fearfully and wonderfully made being that you are, that is the exact moment when the standards for all you are willing to accept in your life will SKYROCKET. The “effort” that I am speaking of encompasses the work that is put in from both, others and yourself. You were worth the effort before & you are MORE than worth the effort now. Allow the same care and attention to detail taken to create you with a purpose to be the standard of care you take to ensure that you are living out the fullness of your purpose. 

Walk through your life with GOD-fidence (Godly Confidence) knowing that you are worth all of the time and the effort that it will take to achieve the life that God has called you to live. Uncovering self-love, God’s love, and your worth is a daily process that requires intentionality. Meditate on these devotions, scriptures, and affirmations as much as you need to until they are ingrained in your heart and mind. May your life be glorious and filled daily with a renewed recognition of your worth. 

Scripture Focus: Psalm 139:13-18 (NIV) 

Pause & Reflect: After reading today’s message and scripture, take a moment to journal – starting today, what are choosing to believe about yourself and the love God has for you?