Psychological studies establish that by age five a child has formed a fairly definite impression of himself. The same studies reveal that self-esteem is not closely related to social position, family work background, education or any combination of such factors. A young child sees himself from the reflections of those close to him, mainly his parents. How they react to his activities largely determines the self image he builds ¹.  Having a wrong self-image can absolutely hinder God’s plan for your life. How can we identify and change a negative self-image?

2 Samuel 9:6-8 (KJV)
6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! 7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. 8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

The Image of Dead Dogs

• The verses above show the interaction between David and Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan.
• Jonathan was David’s best friend on planet earth.
• So much so, that David entered into a blood covenant with Jonathan.
• Blood covenants were binding agreements that transcended generations of men.
• As it turns out, Jonathan dies in battle along with his father, King Saul.
• Mephibosheth was five years old when Jonathan died.

2 Samuel 4:4 (KJV)
4 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

• Note the reaction of the nurse. Instead of running to David because of the covenant relationship, they run away from it. Mephibosheth falls and comes up lame.
• One cannot help but see the New Testament imagery here.
• When you run from the New Covenant that was established in Jesus blood, all you end up doing is falling and coming up lame and crippled in life.
• But that is not all there is to the imagery of the story concerning Mephibosheth.
• Those responsible for the young child’s safety flee to and hide in a place called Lodebar

DEFINITION: Lodebar means pasture-less.

• Since Israel was an agricultural society, pasture-less is not the place where you want to be!
• Pasture-less, or without a pasture is a picture of poverty.
• Remember the 23rd Psalm?

Psalm 23:1–2 (ESV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

• Again, the lesson is plain to see. When you run from the covenant, you will not prosper spiritually, physically, financially over the long haul. Because the nature of God’s covenant is provision.
• The next phase of the story shows David inquiring further about fulfilling his end of the covenant.

2 Samuel 9:1-8 (KJV)
1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? 2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. 3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. 4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. 5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar. 6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant! 7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. 8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

• Notice a couple of things here in these verses.
• First, notice the phrase, the ‘kindness of God’ and observe its connection to the blood covenant.

QUESTION: Do you remember that kindness is one of the descriptors of love in 1Cor. 13:4?

1 Corinthians 13:4 (GW)
4 Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant.

• Showing kindness or love is blood covenant terminology.
• For Christians, for believers in Jesus, for born again blood washed believers kindness is the trumpet of the New Covenant.
• The word ‘kindness’ is also an umbrella term.
• There are many aspects that fall under the term kindness. For example generosity, is not one of the ‘love descriptors found in 1Corinthains 13. The Bible does not say ‘love is generous’. It says love is patient and kind.
• But, you can see that David was being generous with Mephibosheth the son of his covenant brother Johnathan.
• Pay attention to Mephibosheth’s reaction to all of David’s kindness.
•  He does not understand what’s going on.
• He doesn’t believe in or perceive the nature of the covenant his father had cut.
• Look at how Mephibosheth views himself.
• He views himself as a dead dog!
• Mephibosheth was in covenant with David and he could have had anything of David’s because of that covenant. Instead of seeing himself as a royal heir, he sees himself as a dead dog instead.
• All those years that he was away from David in Lodebar, he could have been living like royalty.
• All of those years, he scratched out a meager existence.
• If David had not been kind enough to search Mephibosheth out, he would still have been there in that state, pasture-less, broken down and lame.

I want you to know today that your Father God sought you out while you were in the midst of the pasture-less land. He pursued you when you were lame, broken down and lost.  And out of the kindness of His goodness, He declared to you His Word. He has sent messengers, prepared preachers to minister it to you. His Word to you is that you don’t have to view yourself as a dead dog. You can come and eat at the King’s table.

• Again the words of the Psalmist come to mind.

Psalm 23:5 (NKJV)
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

• You can sit at the table today. Right now, because you have accepted Jesus. You have received the blood of the sacrifice of His Son.
• But, many are not eating at the table.
• The reason why they are not eating is because of how they see themselves.
• They see themselves as unworthy.
• They see themselves as rejected.
• They do not have the right image of themselves.
• They don’t see themselves as very sons of the Most High God.

The Image of Grasshoppers

Numbers 13:1-2, 17, 21, 26,-28, 33 (KJV)
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.  17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: 21 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were IN OUR OWN SIGHT AS GRASSHOPPERS, and so we were in their sight.

• Let’s take a look at this image.
• How did the children of Israel view themselves when it came to life’s difficulties?
• How did they view themselves when they came to the obstacles that they were confronted with?
• They viewed themselves as grasshoppers.
• They were also in covenant relationship with the Most High God.
• God had sworn to Abraham, sworn in blood to give him the land.

Genesis 17:7–8 (NKJV)
7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

• But, their ‘grasshopper’ image totally paralyzed them, completely filled them with fear.
• They felt they could not accomplish. They felt they could not overcome.
• It wasn’t the giants that overcame them.  The giants didn’t even lift a sword.  A giant did not wound a single Israelite, not one of them.  Not one drop of Israelite blood was shed at the hand of any giant.  Yet they were totally and completely defeated.
• Why? Because they had a grasshopper image.

What Kind of Image Do You Have of Yourself?

• You can have a dead dog or a grasshopper image or you can have an I can do all things through Christ image.
• What is a normal healthy, Christian attitude toward self?

1. I know God created me, and He loves me. The fact that He loves me means that He is dedicated to your success.
2. I have faults and weaknesses, and I want to change.  I believe God is working in my life.  He is changing me bit by bit, day by day.  While He is doing so, I can still enjoy myself and enjoy life.
3. Everyone has faults, so I am not a complete failure just because I am not perfect. You have not arrived and neither has anyone else.  We are all in the process of becoming.
4. I am going to work with God to overcome my weaknesses, but I realize that I will always have something to deal with; therefore, I will not become discouraged when God convicts me in areas of my life that I need improvement.
5. I want to make people happy and have them like me, but my sense of self-worth is not dependent on what others think of me.  Jesus has already affirmed my value by His willingness to die for me.
6. What people think, say or do will not control me.  Even if they totally reject me, I will survive.  God has promised never to reject me or condemn me as long as I keep believing (John 6:29).
7. No matter how often I fail, I will not give up, because God is with me to strengthen me and sustain me.  He has promised never to leave me or forsake me (Heb. 13:5).
8. I like myself.  I don’t like everything I do, and I want to change – but I refuse to reject myself.
9. I am right with God through Christ.
10. God has a good plan for my life. I am going to fulfill my destiny and be all that I can be for His glory.  I have God-given gifts and talents, and I intend to use them to help others.
11. I am nothing and yet I am everything!  In myself I am nothing, and yet in Jesus I am everything that I need to be.
12. I can do all things I need to do, everything that God calls me to do, through His Son Jesus Christ. (Phil. 4:13)

Here are a dozen other image builders.

1. Always reject and hate your sin, but don’t reject yourself.
2. Be quick to repent.
3. Be honest with God and yourself, about yourself.
4. When God gives you light or revelation, don’t fear it, don’t run from it.
5. Stop saying negative, downgrading things about yourself. It is ignorance not humility. But on the flip side, don’t boast either because that is also ignorance.
6. In this same vein, don’t have an exaggerated opinion of your own importance, but don’t think that you are insignificant.
7. Don’t always assume when things go wrong that it is your fault.  But don’t be afraid to admit it when you are wrong.
8. Beware of having yourself on your mind too much.  Don’t meditate excessively on what you have done right or what you have done wrong.  Both of these activities keep you on your mind!  Keep your thoughts centered on Christ and on His principles: (Isa. 26:3 – Amp.)
9. Take good care of yourself physically.   Do the best you can with what God gave you to work with but don’t be excessive or vain about your appearance.
10. Learn all you can, but don’t allow your education to become a point of pride.  God does not use people because of their education, but because of our heart toward Him.
11. Realize that your talents are a gift, not something that you have manufactured yourself.  Don’t look down on people that cannot do what you do.
12. Don’t despise your weaknesses, they keep you dependent on God. But do maximize your strengths.

Call to Action:

The choice is actually a simple one. Will you choose to believe what God says about your life, your purpose, your talents, and your calling? Will you believe that you are a world overcomer or will you continue to view yourself as a dead dog or a grasshopper? Life is all about tradeoffs. You can trade in your inferior image of yourself for His superior image of your life.

Question: What can you add to this thread? How have you overcome a dead dog or grasshopper image?

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