Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
Rise Above the Noise
Ever had that moment when you walk into a room and conversations suddenly stop? That feeling of being unwanted or disrespected cuts deep into our souls. From high school cliques to professional settings, most of us carry scars from times we've been made to feel worthless or unwanted by others.
These painful experiences shape how we view ourselves, especially when the rejection comes from someone we once respected.
We need ton remember that we are created in God's image, giving us inherent value no matter how others treat us. When we understand who we are in Christ, we can hold our heads high even when facing criticism or mockery. Your true worth isn't determined by others' opinions but by your Creator who chose you purposefully.
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax and let me help you start your day right. Have you ever walked into a room where people were having a conversation and as you walked up to them, suddenly they just stopped talking and then they sort of looked awkwardly at each other and you know that they were probably saying something very unkind about you. You don't know if they were gossiping or just telling secrets, it doesn't matter. All of a sudden you feel like you're not only the outsider, but you really aren't worthy of being in their presence. It's a cut deep to our souls. Do you remember what it was like back in high school?
Speaker 1:School is one of those places where cliques form faster than anywhere else, and if you're not in the right group, people will ostracize you, they'll look down on you, they'll treat you rudely and badly, they'll do almost anything they can to make themselves think that they are better than you are, and the result is we wind up with more scars. A lot of us have been through one or both of those scenarios where you know people don't want you where you are or they diss you to the point of you feeling like you are worthless. Those scars are hard to get past, especially if some of this comes from someone who you at one point had respected, like a teacher or a relative. It's really hard to get past those kind of hurts. I think almost all of us have faced that at some point, where we feel stupid or awkward or out of place or unwanted. And the unfortunate part is that somebody listening today may find themselves in that situation right now where they feel like they are being disrespected and put down by the people around them. That's even a harder place to be.
Speaker 1:Now I know what this is like. There are times in my life where I have walked into a room of people and they turn their eyes to me and suddenly I know I am not wanted there, I am not liked and I'd be better off to leave. And quite honestly, within me there is the urge to run out of there and not go back. But I've had to learn to hold my head high because of who I am as a child of God and to face those situations. And a number of years ago one of my mentors told me this verse about those exact situations. It's in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 28. The Passion Translation puts it this way he chose the lowly, the laughable in the world's eyes, nobodies, so that he could shame the somebodies, for he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent. I like the way that's put those people that look at you and think that you're a nobody, or that you are laughable, or that you don't belong. Well, god has chosen us. Each one of us have been through that situation. God has chosen us to rise up over and above all of those who've looked down on us because of what we believe and who we are.
Speaker 1:Have you noticed the growing trend of hating Christians and what they believe? Christians are the problem. They are the source of all of society's difficulties. Get rid of their thoughts and their ideas and their religion, and get rid of them and the world would be better. We're being targeted in so many different ways and we're being belittled in all of it. The ignorant Christians is a phrase that I am hearing in several places to describe anybody who is a follower of Christ, who goes to church, who believes in the Bible. The ignorant Christians are the problem.
Speaker 1:In John, chapter 5 and verse 19, we are told why the world hates us so much, why our message of love and hope that comes through Christ is so rejected and is so belittled by the people around us. It says the whole world lies in wickedness. Now, as long as the world lies in the grip of wickedness, we better accept the fact that the unbelieving will mock and make fun of us, no matter what we do to try to change their opinion. It's just the way the world is going to act. So, rather than letting other people affect our self-image and our confidence, we need to know who we are in Jesus Christ and we need to hold our head up high. We have no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed.
Speaker 1:We need to remember that anybody at any time in our lives who have put us down, who have tried to crush us or embarrass us or belittle us, they're coming from this wicked world as well. It's the wickedness in them that has attacked us, whether it be how we look, how we act, how we dress or what we believe. We are created by God, created by God to be in His image, and in His image we are everything. We should be in Him and we can have confidence in knowing that God is with us, because God has made us and if we understand that he loves us and that His favor is on our lives, we can, with faith and boldness, reject the things that people have said and done, that have belittled us through the years and left us with those scars. God will heal you and will give you peace and joy. So have a great day, everyone, and we will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday, right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac.
