A frequent challenge in therapy is the client’s view of self. On one end of the spectrum, we have the narcissist with an inflated view of self. This is more the exception since narcissists usually don’t spend a lot of time in therapy. The more common problem is a deep feeling of shame, inadequacy, and worthlessness.
Most of my clients are Christian, but many still struggle with those feelings of shame and worthlessness. Below is a message (shared with permission) given by Pastor Geoff Kohler at a morning worship service on Good Friday. I invite you reflect on Pastor Geoff’s message and what is says about your worth.
Message 04-15-22 – Mornings with the Master
Series: Holy Week
Scripture: Mark 14:32-42
Title: Get Off Your Knees
Our Scripture reveals a most human Jesus.
It’s interesting that the other Gospels abbreviate this portion of Jesus’ story as Mark tells it. Matthew and Luke, that copy much of Mark, don’t share as much of what he says here. In Gethsemane, as Mark tells it, Jesus expresses anguish if not fear. He realizes he is going to the cross and it would be tough for any of us. “Excruciating” is a Latin word, probably made up by Roman soldiers, at least by Latin speakers who observed crucifixions… It literally means, “out of the cross.” This is the kind of pain that came from crucifixion.
People have gone to death with more composure than Jesus and people have suffered in dying more than Jesus, but Jesus knew what else was going on as he prayed. He knew something of he was going to have to battle to keep his relationship with God. So, he prayed in anguish. He prayed that the cup would be removed from him. He prayed as a spiritual being and as a human being fully in touch with God.
Through God’s touch in the Holy Spirit, Jesus knew that he was coming against God’s enemy… death. God is life. He is only life-giving and death is his enemy. It will be the final enemy that is destroyed.
I have no doubt that Jesus understood more than us and that he saw the will of God. But, at the same time, he was also a person. Somehow, he struggled through the problem we face in keeping our relationship with God when we suffer.
Jesus was going to face death but even more than that he was going to face dying. That’s truly the thing that scares us the most as human beings… we’re not as afraid of being dead as we are of the process of getting there. Jesus knew that.
That’s important for us to take in as we come alongside Jesus in Gethsemane. This is Jesus on his knees beside the hospital bed begging God to heal a child. This is Jesus on his knees bending over his parent who can barely breathe asking God to just let them die and get out of pain. This is Jesus aching in the depths of his soul because he can’t find a way out of the situation he’s fallen into.
This is Jesus when he is most like us. This is Jesus in the pain of being human with all the limitations. This is Jesus being tempted by evil to turn his back on God.
I believe this is why the other Gospels couldn’t include these words. They seemed to de-sanctify our Lord. It’s scary to see how completely human our Savior was. It’s scary to consider that Jesus walked exactly the same road that we walk. It’s scary to think of Jesus as this fragile.
But, these words are included in the Gospel because they reveal how truly human Jesus was. They’re included so that we can know that he knows exactly what we are going through when we face suffering, when we face despair. His words in this moment… not my will but yours… are his example to us of saying, once again, get behind me Satan.
Sometimes, as we glorify Jesus, we leave out the human Jesus part. We act as if Jesus was all-knowing… like God… but that’s not human. We act like Jesus never had a mean thought or considered doing damage to others… but that’s not human. When we read that he was tempted… we think… well, yeah, but not really…
This is what we read however in Hebrews 4:5,
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
“Tempted in every way, just as we are…” We have a Savior who understands us completely and knows what it is to suffer mentally and emotionally and not to have an answer or at least one we prefer. We have a Savior who was tempted in every way, just as we are… but he did not cut off his communication with God. He didn’t turn away from God and try to find his own answer. He didn’t give up on God and look for a quick fix or accept being just a little dishonest or choose to act as if God is not in the world. Jesus didn’t allow some piece of him to go dead and to stop working. Jesus didn’t sin.
What this can mean to us is that Jesus really did give up everything in order to purchase us out of the realm of death.
Something is worth what someone will pay for it. Something is worth what someone will pay for it.
What this tells us is the worth of our soul. At Christmas we’re reminded of the magnificence of the incarnation, of God joining us here on Earth. We’re told of the Holy Night, when all the stars were brightly shining, when our dear Savior was born, after we’d wallowed in sin and error, pining for a rescue, and he appeared and the soul felt it’s worth. Something is worth what someone will pay for it.
Do you feel your worth? As you come alongside Jesus in anguish, dealing with all the same limitations we live with daily, knowing our pain, knowing our lack of answers, knowing fear… but choosing life, always choosing life, always choosing us over his own way.
Something is worth what someone will pay for it. Jesus paid everything for you. He gave up being God… for us. Something is worth what someone will pay for it. Do you feel your worth today?
scottwoodtherapy 
Posted on April 16, 2022
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