Part 1: Segullah

“You are worthless!” “You are good for nothing.” “Nothing good can come of you”.  If these are the words that are shouted at you or if these are words that you say to yourself, then this abuse needs to stop now.

The common idiom, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, is so profound. What man may see as trash in his weak earthly view of life, God sees as potential. God sees us as His treasured possession.  

The Hebrew word for treasure is Segullah (סְגֻלָּה ), pronounced “seh-goo-LAH” which is translated as “treasured possession.”

In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were referred to as God’s treasured people. We read of this in the following scriptures:

Exodus 19:5 New International Version (NIV) , “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Deuteronomy 7:6 (NIV), “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”

Deuteronomy 14:2, (NIV) “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.”

In the new testament, 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV) says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

This confirms that when we accepted Christ into our hearts, Christ adopted us as His children and we all fell heirs to this same promise that was made to the children of Israel. Both Jews and Gentiles inherit this title of God’s treasured possession.

Wow! Shout this from the rooftops, “I belong to God and I am His treasured possession!”

The splendour of God’s mercy just overwhelms me every time I read His word. James 2:13 says that His “mercy triumphs over judgment.” Therefore, no guilt, shame, past mistakes, or bully can leave you feeling worthless, useless, and trashy. 

His mercy and grace through His death on the cross cradles and defends us in times of weakness. His blood redeems us of all sin and shame. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Whatever the reason that may have left you feeling this way, take control of it today and hear what God has to say about the way He views you. Don’t let the enemy lie to you today. Read on.

I love the combination of both these words, “treasured possession.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, treasure is defined as “wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up, hoarded or buried treasure. A wealth of any kind or in any form, a store of money in reserve, something of great worth or value, also a person esteemed as rare or precious or a collection of precious things.”

So, say to yourself, “I am a precious jewel hidden within God’s love and mercy.  I am something of great worth and value. I am esteemed. I am rare and precious. Even though I have my failures God still sees me as a collection of precious things.” 

Now, the word possessions according to Cambridge Dictionary is defined as “something that you own or that you are carrying with you at a particular time.”

Oh my!!! This is more than enough to get me jumping off my seat.  Every time you have been made to feel like trash, like you did not deserve to be in the position you are in, or when you were made to feel unloved, crushed, and ridiculous, and for all those times you were discriminated against, God says otherwise. He says, “You are my possession.” Therefore, you belong to a greater force, which makes you precious. He owns you and He carries you!

So let’s stick this together. You are God’s Segullah, you are bought by His blood (1 Corinthians 6:20). Therefore, you are owned by Him. You are His highly esteemed precious jewel of great worth and He carries you! What He thinks of you is all that matters!

Say this to yourself over and over until you start believing it: “I am no man’s trash. I am God’s treasured possession.”

To be continued…