By Daniel Garner

"And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows" - Luke 12: 7

"Sometimes the hardest part of the journey is believing you're worth the trip" - Glenn Beck, The Christmas Sweater

Like many callings, being a pastor means you're on constant display.

And when you're on display, it's easy to see all of the things about yourself that you hate.

If all you see of yourself is a faint echo of what you think you once were, then every time you think about yourself it will feel like you’re uselessly screaming into the wind. When that happens, your own voice demanding answers is all that you will hear.

I’ll be honest, I'm very hard on myself.

If I feel I've done wrong, it's very difficult for me to forgive myself.

The thing is, though, is that we have two choices in life when it comes to going forward: We can become bitter, or we can become better.

Choose "better."

Self-defeat depends on surrender and apathy and doesn't always just use brute force. Sometimes it uses your own voice.

So, choose this day "better!" Become better and not bitter, a winner instead of loser and most importantly of all, believe in yourself as much as God believes in you!

The thing is, though, is that so often we get so beat down we start questioning whether or not believing in ourselves is even a good idea (hint: It still is).

The unfortunate thing about learning to devalue a life is that you can also learn to devalue ANYONE.

Or anything. Including yourself.

When you introduce yourself to someone, do you being the sentence with, "Hello, here is my list of all of my vices and everything I think is wrong with myself.....?"

Please love one another and yourself.

If you rely on someone else to love for you while you choose to become bitter, then all you are doing is extending the pain, hurt and bitterness even further along.

If we allow ourselves to consider ourselves unworthy or useless or become bitter then we get to begin going down that scary road of letting the feeling of worthlessness we're screaming against to become more firmly implanted into us.

Combat bitterness with bitterness and hate is born.

Combat bitterness with love and compassion is born!

The Takeaway: Choose this day compassion. Let tomorrow worry about tomorrow and let the knowledge that you are  more than useful and not worthless comfort you today!