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Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Unworthy

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Unworthy

Last updated on: February 13, 2016 at 9:59 am by Jack Wellman

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Unworthy 2016-02-13T09:59:51-06:00 Jack Wellman

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Here are seven Bible verses that address those who have feelings of unworthiness.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

I wonder how many of those who feel unworthy right now overlook this powerfully potent verse. It says it all! God loves us enough to die for us and if we believe in the Son of God, we receive eternal life through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). The truth is, none of us are worthy; we are only made worthy in God’s sight by Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross and the result is this; “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2nd Cor 5:21), so it’s not whether you feel worthy or not, it’s a matter of God declaring you worthy because of the imputation or imparting of Jesus’ righteousness to us. Feelings are subjective, meaning they’re subject to error; God’s Word is objective, meaning it is always true, no matter what you or I feel. Feelings don’t change what is true.

Genesis 32:9-10 “And Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,’ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.”

These verses are where Jacob is praying to God before he meets his brother, Esau, who the last time he saw him wanted to kill him, so Jacob humbly prays, “Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children” (Gen 32:11). Jacob’s words drip with humility, and that’s good, because God will resist the proud and extend His grace only to the humble (James 4:6). Jacob declares his unworthiness to receive God’s “steadfast love and all the faithfulness” that God showed him, but so must we all (Rom 3:10-12, 23).

Hebrews 4:15-16 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Whoever has trusted in Christ has a high priest that can take their prayers directly to the throne of grace, so “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession” (Heb 4:14). The author of Hebrews tells us we can approach God’s throne with confidence, and what better high priest than Someone Who’s went through what we’ve gone through or are going through. He can sympathize with our weaknesses because of what He endured in His life but especially during the Passion.

Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

I think it is clear that God places value on us, not because we’re worthy but because He first loved us as God made the first move (1st John 4:19), so God obviously values us more than many sparrows (Matt 10:29-31). I would say, more than all the sparrows. God set His love upon us, not because we were worthy because then, none would be loved, but only because God loved us first.

Isaiah 43:4 “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.”

When you get home from work or school or whatever, does your pet, if you have one, see you as precious in his or her sight? Isn’t that welcome home worth a million bucks? Maybe it’s your beloved wife and children or a dear pet that are “precious in” your “eyes.” Now, think how much more precious than any earthly relationship is the one with God Who says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1b). I understand this was written to Israel or Jacob, but I don’t see why we can’t read this to the exclusion of ourselves.

Psalm 103:13-14 “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”

What a tender picture of our heavenly Father who is moved with compassion over we His children, but this compassion is only for His children who are those who fear Him. To fear doesn’t mean a fear of being struck dead but of a deep, holy, reverential respect for God that prompts obedience in the person. His compassion comes from His knowledge that we are just dust and very fragile in this world. The word “compassion” is obviously a compound word and means “with” (com) “passion.” Just look at the cross when you think about passion.

Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

This verse is amazing because it describes God rejoicing with such gladness that He exults over us with loud singing. Not just singing but “loud” singing. You might not feel like rejoicing over your salvation or the fact that God loves you with such a potent love, but God doesn’t qualify His love for us by our worthiness. Do you think a parent loves their child based upon their worthiness?! Even though this was written to ancient Israel, today there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but one in Christ (Gal 3:28), and God is still the One Who is mighty to save.

Conclusion

Trust or feelings? Which is more reliable? History shows that human feelings are the most unreliable, undependable of all human emotions and they can lie to us. We can’t trust our feelings, especially with our eternal lives, but we can trust what God says about eternal life (John 3:16) and that He promises to never leave us or forsake us (Heb 13:5), so who are what are you going to trust? Is it your feelings or God’s Word? Which is always true and which is sometimes true? Feelings come and go but the Word of the Lord abides forever (1st Pet 1:25; 1st John 2:17) and that includes all of His great and precious promises; not one of them is broken. God’s “steadfast love and all the faithfulness” (Gen 32:10) He shows us doesn’t depend upon our worthiness, thankfully! You can trust a God Who is steadfast in His love for us, no matter how unworthy you feel.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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