Psalm 139:13-18 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
I was reading an article by Joyce Meyers ,based off of her book Woman to Woman, and she gave these easy to follow suggestions to learning to love and enjoy who God made you to be and as I'm reading them they actually seem like steps to me. At least they look that way according to how I’ve journeyed through my life and with the issues and situations that I have faced.
1. Speak good things about yourself. Too often, because of low self-esteem or because of things other people have said about us, we tend to down ourselves. We are quick to speak on all the negative instead of the positive that we bring to this world. Lately, I've noticed that I have changed a lot of the way I speak about myself. When I open my mouth and the words "I can't" or "I'm not" come out...I'm attempting to change them into...”I'm learning to” or “I'm praying that God will help me to overcome it”. It’s not always easy because for some stupid reason the harsh stuff seems easier to believe, but I’m making the conscience effort to speak positive into my life.
2. Avoid comparing yourself to others. Admittedly, this is something that has plagued me for a very long time. However happily, this is also something that I am beginning to overcome. We look around us and see beauty and intelligence in others and since we don’t look or act exactly the same, we think that we don’t measure up. So then we try to fashion ourselves to be like what we see in others when the truth of the matter is God made us different for a reason. I also think this is a very large reason why God had me cut my hair. Oddly though, I would have thought that I would now compare myself more, but I actually don't. I guess that just speaks to what happens when we are obedient to God. He is restoring in me who I was intended to be in Him from the very beginning; I’m learning to accept me for who I am on the inside and out.
3. Focus on your potential instead of your limitations. Instead of constantly talking about what we can’t do or what we lack, how wonderful it would be if we could look at the good in us. We all have special gifts and things to offer, we just have to stop for a moment to realize them. I actually think this is where I am at right now. I prayed and fasted prior to my surgery and asked God to speak to me while I was out of work for those two weeks and I'm truly thankful that I feel He has. I am beginning to feel more confident in who I am and who I am becoming in Christ. I may not be able to pray like this person or write like that person…etc…but, that’s ok; I’m doing everything I do the way that God intended for me to. I don’t doubt that there will be days that I struggle with this, all of this for that matter, but I'm learning that who I am now really does touch people and I am making an impact for God's kingdom just the way that He made me.
4. Learn to cope with criticism. Hmmm, this one is tough for me. I’m not sure that I necessarily get angry when criticized, but because of my "past" low self-esteem, it makes me feel like I'm not good enough, I don’t do anything right or that once again I don’t measure up to what I should. So, as I do my best to stay focused and am working my way through number three, I'm praying that number four will begin to get easier. I’m praying to realize that sometimes things are brought to my attention to help me and that even if they are to hurt me, they don’t have to define me and cause me to down myself all over again.
The scripture above talks about how wonderfully complex we are; that we were created, every little detail, on purpose and with our own specific purpose in mind. Just stop for a moment and think about that…God took the time to knit together every fiber of your being, individually and on purpose! That alone should tell us just how truly special we really are. God loves you better and more than you ever could yourself, that’s why He took the time to make you just the way you are!!
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