As I minister to people or as I share their stories in my role as a journalist, I’ve come to recognize people seldom see themselves as they truly are. I may or may not know you, but I may know a few things about you that perhaps you don’t know about yourself. 

• First, you are more loved than you can comprehend. The God who spoke the universe into existence came down from heaven to lay down His life for you. Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And John 15:13 affirms the vastness of this kind of love: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.“
• Second, you may feel insignificant, but you are always on God’s mind. Psalm 139:17-18 tells us, “How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!” You matter far more than you know. You have eternal value.
• Third, when you look in the mirror, you may see your failures, hurts and shortcomings. But when God looks at you, He sees a reflection of Himself, as Genesis 1:27 tells us: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” 
• Fourth, you’re not the only one who has ever struggled in the way you’re struggling. You’re not alone. God will see you to the other side. First Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
• Fifth, if you’re living and breathing and reading this message, God can still redeem your life and help you start again. You have not fallen too far. You have not escaped His mighty grasp. Romans 5:20-21 tells us, “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” His grace is greater than your sin, and He stands ready to welcome you into His family.
• Sixth, today is God’s gift to you, and He offers you a clean slate. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us, “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
• Seventh, today can be more than a brand-new day for you. It can be a brand-new beginning. Second Corinthians 6:2 tells us, “For He says, ‘In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” You have the power of choice. God has the power to make it happen. Isn’t it time to unleash that power in your life?