Torah Portion NITZAVIM-VAYEILECH – Devarim (Deuteronomy) 29:9-31:30 Haftarah: Isaiah 61:10-63:9
“I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made! Wonderful are Your works—and my soul knows that very well.” Psalms 139:14 TLV
Shabbat shalom, dearly beloved.
Have you ever heard the following:
If you just believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything you desire. You can be all you want to be. While this sounds good and uplifting, my question is, is it true?
The Bible often speaks about what we might call healthy self-worth or identity—seeing ourselves according to Adonai’s truth rather than through rejection, pride, shame, or comparison.
It all starts from the basics: Who created us? Are we the figment of our parents’ imagination? Are we an accident of nature? We have to settle those questions first if we are to rebuild a healthy self-esteem.
“For You have created my conscience. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalms 139:13 TLV
Obviously, the same God who made heaven and earth, the mountains and the seas, the flowers and the trees, and the butterflies and bees also created you and me. The Scriptures call us an awesome creation.
“I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made! Wonderful are Your works—and my soul knows that very well.” Psalms 139:14 TLV
But do we know that we are an awesome creation of the Most High? Does our soul know it?
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness! Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the flying creatures of the sky, over the livestock, over the whole earth, and over every crawling creature that crawls on the land.” Genesis 1:26 TLV
When we look in the mirror, do we realize that we are looking at the image and likeness of our Creator? Do we really know that we have His face, His hands, His voice, His heart? Do we understand that everything in us is designed to look like Him and to be like Him? And to confirm this astounding fact, He said, “Let them rule!” We are created to be rulers in this earthly realm —not doormats, not victims of circumstances, but rulers! And this is true for both men and women equally!
“God created humankind in His image; in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 TLV
He created male and female to be like Him in everything: in authority, in compassion, in creativity, in generosity, in holiness, in righteousness, and so much more. That is a mouthful!
God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the land, and conquer it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of the sky, and over every animal that crawls on the land.” Genesis 1:28 TLV
So where do low self-esteem and lack of self-worth or their opposites, such as presumption and pride, come from?
Then Adonai Elohim called to the man, and He said to him, ‘Where are you?” Then he said, “Your sound—I heard it in the garden, and I was afraid. Because I am naked, I hid myself.” Then He said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3:9-11 TLV
When Adam, female and male, broke the first commandment given to them, they lost the ability to see themselves in the light of the Creator. When they ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, their perception of themselves got impaired. Their understanding and vision got poisoned. They now saw themselves through the eyes of the snake. With their self-perception impaired, now humans will see themselves in a twisted way, sometimes too big (pride) or too small (inferiority).
This perverted perception would now rule in relationships between men and women, parents and children. It would lead to abusive relationships, and it would inflict many wounds in the souls of mankind.
To the woman, He said, “I will greatly increase your pain from conception to labor. In pain, will you give birth to children. Your desire will be toward your husband, yet he must rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 TLV
There is only one cure for this impaired self-judgment: a forgiveness so great that it can recreate the self-image of the Creator in us. This is exactly what Yeshua did when hanging on that Tree of Calvary, paying the ultimate price for our sin and rebellion. That was the highest blood price ever paid for the restoration of the human soul to its original blueprint, to be the spitting image of our Creator.
“When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him and the evildoers, one on His right and the other on His left. But Yeshua was saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Then they cast lots, dividing up His clothing.” Luke 23:33-34 TLV
When our Creator became a man in His Divine Son, born as a Jew in Judea, He was called the Second Adam.
“The first man is of the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:47 TLV
When Yeshua becomes our Lord, we are instantly born again, are thoroughly forgiven, and the journey of restoration of our souls begins.
“Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 TLV
The filthy thumbprints of sin and satan are erased. The wounds inflicted by sin and satan begin to heal. In the same way, our perverted perception of self begins to get untwisted and restored to its original intent.
Our value begins with recognizing that Adonai intentionally created us.
Ephesians 2:10 — His workmanship
“For we are His workmanship—created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand so we might walk in them.”
You are not an accident. You are His workmanship, created with purpose.
1 Peter 2:9 — Chosen and called
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…”
Biblical identity comes from belonging to God.
Isaiah 43:4 — Precious in His sight
“Since you are precious in My eyes, honored, because I love you…”
This is particularly powerful for someone struggling with rejection or feelings of worthlessness: “You are precious in My eyes.”
Romans 8:1 — Freedom from condemnation
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua.”
A healthy identity requires distinguishing conviction from condemnation. Conviction will lead us to repentance while condemnation will lead to defeat.
Romans 8:15–16 — Identity as God’s child
Paul teaches that we have not received a spirit of slavery leading back into fear, but the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Philippians 4:13 — Confidence through Messiah
“I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me.”
Psalm 27:10 — Overcoming parental rejection
“Though my father and my mother forsake me, Adonai will take me in.”
This can be especially meaningful when self-worth has been damaged through childhood rejection.
Zephaniah 3:17—Adonai delights in His people.
“Adonai, your God, is in your midst—a mighty Savior! He will delight in you with joy. He will quiet you with His love. He will dance for joy over you with singing.”
A biblical foundation for self-esteem
Biblical self-esteem isn’t the prideful attitude of “I am wonderful because of myself.” Neither is it false humility that says, “I am worthless.”
The biblical balance is:
I have great value because Adonai created me, loves me, redeemed me, chose me, and has given me a purpose. At the same time, everything I am and accomplish depends upon His grace. Without Him, I am nothing.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5 TLV
With Him, I am everything I need to be for His glory.
“But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37
Our soul needs to know this very well. Then whatever He designed us to be and to accomplish will become possible. We will not be torpedoed by feelings of inferiority or superiority. Our self-worth will be made whole. We will become comfortable being ourselves and stop trying to be someone else or to compete with others. We will embrace the fact that our Creator does all things well, and this includes you and me. He outfitted us with all that we need to succeed in the purpose for which we were born and then born again.
“I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made! Wonderful are Your works—and my soul knows that very well.” Psalms 139:14 TLV
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