Shared by Khanh Ho
Something God has been reminding me over and over again is my worth and value in Him. I’ve been experiencing revelation on this through various experiences. It all started a little over a year ago, when a friend of mine got engaged and came to visit me in LA. During her visit, I asked her questions of how her engagement had come about. Long story short, she shared that her fiancé felt convicted to pursue her, having received a revelation through prayer that she was like “a pearl of great price, valuable and worthy of great sacrifice.” Over the next few days, this phrase really stood out to me, as I felt God speak those words into me as well — that I’m precious and valuable in His sight.
Sometime afterwards while driving, I distinctly remember receiving words of endearment from God and I began to sob and weep. Again, I felt that God was personally saying that same message: “Daughter, you are precious. You are worthy, and I love you.” It was amazing to receive those words and to let that message soak into the deepest parts of me.
Later, I went to China for a business trip, and I got a cell phone with a random cell phone number. Strangely enough, I received a lot of random text messages from strangers, even though I only gave the number out to family members and a couple business people. One day not too long before I left China, I was looking over the texts, and one particular text stood out to me. In Chinese, it’s as follows:
女人不必太美
只要有人深愛
女人不必太富
只要過得辛福
女人不必太強
只要活得尊貴
Translated to English, it says: “Women need not be too beautiful, but they ought to be deeply loved. They need not be too wealthy, but they ought to live life abundantly. They need not be too strong, but they ought to display their worth.” I wrote this text down, translated it, and thought to myself, Wow, this is really really good, and really true. It also affirmed the recurring theme that God had been speaking to me, about being a pearl of great price.
One final incident occurred, which was deeply personal to me. In China, I was watching the movie Mulan. At the end of the movie, Mulan saved the day and the emperor honored her. The general Li Xiang had a crush on her but didn’t have the courage to tell her about his feelings towards her. In order to encourage Li Xiang to pursue her, the emperor said: “The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and precious of all. You do not find a girl like this in every dynasty.” Having heard that, I found myself crying again, as I felt that God was speaking the truth of those words into my being — about my preciousness and my worth.
After these experiences, I now feel passionate in wanting women to know their worth and their value, just the way that God has spoken it to me. In our culture, there’s a desire to be beautiful which is not bad, but how we go about it is really dysfunctional. It’s not bad to buy clothes and jewelry and make yourself beautiful, but at the end of the day, you find that there’s something inside of yourself that’s longing for more. I believe that only when we believe that we are valuable in God’s sight, then are we able to receive the beauty that we so desire.
Khanh Ho runs a business with her brother called RC Toy House, selling remote-controlled helicopters, trucks, cars, etc. In 2007, she graduated Fuller Theological Seminary with an MA in the School of Intercultural Studies. Khanh is Chinese, born in Hong Kong, and immigrated to the US at the age of 5. Her hobbies include volleyball and trying new things and her favorite food is Italian, particularly pasta and lasagna.
Interviewed by Joy Wong
this was a lovely + encouraging word. THANK YOU so much!!
You’re welcome! I’m glad to hear. YOU ARE PRECIOUS!