Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who
fears the LORD is to be praised.-Proverbs 31:30
My sisters who struggle with self-image and self-worth, I
believe the Lord has a word for you.
In a world full of constant change and desire for more,
people are only finding worth on the surface. With the way women especially are
exploited in the media, there are expectations of others that just are not realistic
for the masses. Hollywood is most guilty of this. They have plastic surgeons,
personal trainers, chefs or personal dieticians they can afford this lifestyle
because they primarily rely on their “looks” to survive. They have no "roots" to keep them strong and unmoveable, because the emphasis is on the shallow.
The world has become so hyper-visual that so much is being rejected and overlooked. We feel exhausted and anxious because we try to live up to these expectations but we can’t. So we begin to be self-critical, loathing ourselves, wallowing in misery. This is not the way God wants us to be. Our perspective has been clouded and so we need to come to the throne of God in prayer seeking HIS perspective of WHO we are and how we appear to Him.
The world has become so hyper-visual that so much is being rejected and overlooked. We feel exhausted and anxious because we try to live up to these expectations but we can’t. So we begin to be self-critical, loathing ourselves, wallowing in misery. This is not the way God wants us to be. Our perspective has been clouded and so we need to come to the throne of God in prayer seeking HIS perspective of WHO we are and how we appear to Him.
God says we are His “precious jewels,”
And they shall be mine, said the LORD of
hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man
spares his own son that serves him.-Malachi 3:17
Our vision of ourselves is poor…
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a
mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I am fully known.-1 Corinthians 13:12
BUT, GOD is doing something so AMAZING and
BEAUTIFUL to us on the inside!!! He is giving us a spiritual “make-over!”
But we all see the glory of THE LORD JEHOVAH with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, and we are changed into the image from glory to glory, as from THE LORD JEHOVAH, THE SPIRIT.-2 Corinthians 3:18
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.-Romans 8:29
His beauty and glory, as we walk closer and closer with Him, will begin to ooze out of this temporary shell we call the “flesh.” People will encounter GOD without even recognizing what is happening. They’ll look at you and may not know why. They’ll be attracted to your spirit, because of Christ. God wants to show you so much and reveal so much to you about your purpose and Him. He wants you to be rooted and secure in Him. Self-acceptance is one of THE hardest things to overcome. We may be aliens in this world, but we are still in this body and we have to deal with things breaking down, scarring, and de-beautifying. As we grow older, it’s inevitable. But we cannot put our confidence in the flesh! That is why so many are so despairing…nothing temporary can hold us up, but instead will have us crashing down…
For we are the circumcision, those who serve God in The Spirit, and we glory in Yeshua The Messiah, and we do not trust upon the flesh-Philippians 3:3
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”-Matthew 7:24-27
I’m not saying don’t take proper care of your bodies, rather I’m saying, don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Don’t feel inferior next to someone who is beautiful. Appreciate the beauty, but don’t let it undermine yours. We have to be careful to not hyper-focus on ourselves, but to direct our focus on our King and His will for our lives. Remember what happened to Peter when he began to sink? He doubted and he took his focus off of Jesus. When you keep the focus on Christ, you will see yourself from His eyes and accept yourself as He accepts you. The world is a blinder, a stumbling block, and so we need to guard ourselves against all of its devices and all it is offering. Don’t watch programs that focus on image, don’t look at pictures that focus on image, don’t listen to songs that focus on image. You are a CHILD OF GOD NOT of the world! Take that in. Let it marinate. Believe it. You struggle, because you are in the “old man” mind-set.” You are no longer apart of this world. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). That old mind-set will always trip you up, because it is in conflict with your new nature.
What a great privilege and honor to be a princess of the KING of kings! Remember, the enemy always speaks to the flesh. God is Spirit and He speaks to our spirits, because that is where the source of all of our thinking and being generates from. If you are miserable, something has malfunctioned between you and the Father. Whenever you begin to feel bad about yourself, look to the Creator of you. Read His Word. Hide it in your heart. I don’t care if you have to recite it in the mirror a 1,000,000 times, about whom you are in Christ and that you are beautiful and of much value. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind! (Romans 12:2) Stop marinating on the lies and negativity and start speaking and thinking about the TRUTH of GOD’s Word.
But we all see the glory of THE LORD JEHOVAH with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, and we are changed into the image from glory to glory, as from THE LORD JEHOVAH, THE SPIRIT.-2 Corinthians 3:18
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.-Romans 8:29
His beauty and glory, as we walk closer and closer with Him, will begin to ooze out of this temporary shell we call the “flesh.” People will encounter GOD without even recognizing what is happening. They’ll look at you and may not know why. They’ll be attracted to your spirit, because of Christ. God wants to show you so much and reveal so much to you about your purpose and Him. He wants you to be rooted and secure in Him. Self-acceptance is one of THE hardest things to overcome. We may be aliens in this world, but we are still in this body and we have to deal with things breaking down, scarring, and de-beautifying. As we grow older, it’s inevitable. But we cannot put our confidence in the flesh! That is why so many are so despairing…nothing temporary can hold us up, but instead will have us crashing down…
For we are the circumcision, those who serve God in The Spirit, and we glory in Yeshua The Messiah, and we do not trust upon the flesh-Philippians 3:3
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”-Matthew 7:24-27
I’m not saying don’t take proper care of your bodies, rather I’m saying, don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Don’t feel inferior next to someone who is beautiful. Appreciate the beauty, but don’t let it undermine yours. We have to be careful to not hyper-focus on ourselves, but to direct our focus on our King and His will for our lives. Remember what happened to Peter when he began to sink? He doubted and he took his focus off of Jesus. When you keep the focus on Christ, you will see yourself from His eyes and accept yourself as He accepts you. The world is a blinder, a stumbling block, and so we need to guard ourselves against all of its devices and all it is offering. Don’t watch programs that focus on image, don’t look at pictures that focus on image, don’t listen to songs that focus on image. You are a CHILD OF GOD NOT of the world! Take that in. Let it marinate. Believe it. You struggle, because you are in the “old man” mind-set.” You are no longer apart of this world. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). That old mind-set will always trip you up, because it is in conflict with your new nature.
What a great privilege and honor to be a princess of the KING of kings! Remember, the enemy always speaks to the flesh. God is Spirit and He speaks to our spirits, because that is where the source of all of our thinking and being generates from. If you are miserable, something has malfunctioned between you and the Father. Whenever you begin to feel bad about yourself, look to the Creator of you. Read His Word. Hide it in your heart. I don’t care if you have to recite it in the mirror a 1,000,000 times, about whom you are in Christ and that you are beautiful and of much value. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind! (Romans 12:2) Stop marinating on the lies and negativity and start speaking and thinking about the TRUTH of GOD’s Word.
Let Him
heal you. Work on yourself and take time for you and the Lord. Don’t look to a
man for validation because remember…
For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.-1 John 2:16
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.-Proverbs 27:20
For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.-1 John 2:16
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.-Proverbs 27:20
People of the world have so much doubt that they are like the waves of the sea being tossed to and fro...
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.-James 1:6I don't know about you, but I do not want to place any confidence in someone like that. I'd be all sick from that commotion on the inside and instability! Man in and of himself (including women) can not be entrusted with our image. It doesn't belong in the hands of fallible man, but in the hands of the "Potter" the infallible God. It's no wonder some of us actually look and feel as though we've been "ship-wrecked" from the inside out! Who we ridin' with anyway? I'm just sayin'! ;-)
Ok ladies, to sum it all up, two things to remember to live by, that will help you remain on the right track:
Who does GOD say I am?
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.-James 1:6I don't know about you, but I do not want to place any confidence in someone like that. I'd be all sick from that commotion on the inside and instability! Man in and of himself (including women) can not be entrusted with our image. It doesn't belong in the hands of fallible man, but in the hands of the "Potter" the infallible God. It's no wonder some of us actually look and feel as though we've been "ship-wrecked" from the inside out! Who we ridin' with anyway? I'm just sayin'! ;-)
Ok ladies, to sum it all up, two things to remember to live by, that will help you remain on the right track:
Who does GOD say I am?
What does GOD say I should do?
Jesus paid a heavy price for you. He sees you
as invaluable. That is all that matters. Like-minded/spirited individuals know the same. If God says I am beautiful and valuable in His sight, well then, who am I to argue with that!? ;-) May you come to the full-knowledge and acceptance of who you are in Christ. God bless.
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