By Nellie Martin
So many times in life we feel inadequate; our past hanging in the back of our mind and our flaws focusing in on us like a sharp shooter. Some days we feel beautiful and some days we do not. This roller coaster of emotions drives us crazy and we wonder, “Will I ever feel beautiful again?”
You will and you are.
Our worth has been under attack from the evil one since the Garden of Eden. The serpent lied to Eve telling her that if she ate the forbidden fruit she would be like God, but WAIT… She was already like God. She was made in His image. The man and woman both were made in God’s likeness. The enemy began to make her doubt her worth by planting lies in her mind. If he could make her doubt her worth, he could cause her to give up her position of royalty. Due to believing these lies, Eve gave up her position as a princess of God. Satan is the father of lies and he wants to take away our position as daughters of God. He will send people or things to discourage us. Hurtful words from others can really do damage to our identity if we do not know who we are and whose we are. It is important that we listen to Jesus and Jesus alone! There are many voices pulling on us every day ~ friends, family, media, our own mind, and the enemy. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 saying,
“Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.”
Everything you do flows from what you think. If we think like the world, and not like Christ, we cannot know or live in God’s will for our lives. That is why Paul told the church in Rome to let God transform them by renewing the way they think. How do we do this? We must consume our minds and hearts with Jesus. As we begin to live our lives before Jesus, always seeking Him and loving Him, our hearts begin to long for what He longs for and our thoughts line up with His Word.
Abba Father wants you to know your worth. He does not want you seeking it from people or things. The only way to know your worth is to know the One that gives it! Are you daily getting to know Jesus better? Are you reading His Word and applying it to your life? Jesus is your Prince and He desires that you truly live in peace. Apart from Him there is no peace and there is no worth. He came to give life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10)
Depression and fear are NOT a part of God’s plan for His children. Fear is a spirit and the Word says,
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
The original Greek word for the word sound is the word “sozo.” Sozo in Greek means wholeness, healing, deliverance, and salvation. This is the same word used in John 3:17, where Jesus said He came that the world might be saved. Jesus came not just to save you from sin, but to heal you from its effects upon your life. His death means you can now think and live in the light of His love! No more fear. No more insecurity. No more lies. You have a new identity!
You can now be confident no matter what you have done because Jesus has made you pure through His blood on the cross. He has covered you with His radical, unending, beautiful love. His love has made you beautiful! So yield to Him all the contents of your heart. Offer up to Him your hurts, your past mistakes, your present struggles, and everything you do not understand. Ask Him to heal your heart from any wounds people have inflicted upon you. Forgive those that have attacked you and bless them with your mouth. (Matthew 5) Jesus is your healing. He is your rest, and He makes all things new in His presence.
Give yourself to Him and as you do, He will mend your brokenness and give you beauty for ashes. No one can stay the same in the presence of Jesus for He is life, healing, peace, joy, and love. I know how it feels to be broken, but I know that my brokenness does not faze Him. He is bigger than my pain!
Here are some simple ways to find renewed confidence and worth in Jesus:
- Worship Him: turn on your favorite worship music and pour out your heart before Him. Peace will flood your heart and He will speak His love over you!
- Read the Word of God: the Bible is God’s written words! There are truths in the Word that will set you free once you believe them and speak them over your life. Ask God to lead you by His Spirit to what He wants to say to you in His Word. He will speak when you ask and believe!!! This will help your mind to think His thoughts instead of the lies of the enemy.
- Talk with Jesus: prayer is simply talking with God. When you talk things out with Him and cry out before Him, He will bring His healing to your heart. Prayer is power when we believe in the one we are talking to! Jesus wants your pain; tell Him about it. Jesus wants to embrace you!
- Renounce the lies: When the enemy or people speak negative things into your life, refuse to listen to them and counterattack the lie with truth. When the enemy says to you that you are not beautiful say, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made! I may not feel beautiful, but I am! Jesus makes no mistakes.” Your heart and mind will line up with your words.
- Meditate on beautiful things: Do not relive your past in your mind. This is easier said than done, but when you meditate on the wrong things you feel the wrong things. What you feel is a product of what you think. Think about it, if you think about your struggles and your past mistakes it will discourage you, but if you think about His love for you it will empower you. You cannot rise above what you think and believe.
God is doing so much healing and restoration in my heart through these simple tools. Song of Solomon, Psalms, Isaiah, John, Ephesians, Colossians, Galatians, and Philippians are just a few encouraging books of the Bible that will lift you up as you read them! You are loved, pursued, wanted, cherished, and forgiven. Jesus is your adequacy. You are enough in Him for He has paid the highest price! Rest in His love that your joy may be full. (John 15)
Here is a sample prayer to pray to help release your heart from fear to faith in what God says about you:
“Abba Father, I thank you for Your Son Jesus and the price He paid. His death paid for my complete freedom! I give my heart, mind, and body to Jesus. I yield to His complete control over my life! I choose to think His thoughts and meditate on His love for me. I am not what the world says that I am or what even people say I am. I am loved. I am cherished. I am wanted. I am righteous in Christ Jesus. I have the mind of Christ and I listen to His Word alone! I forgive those that have hurt me and release them to you! Thank you for healing my heart and removing any bitter root. Give me a passion for your presence and a passion for your Word. Make me into the woman I am called to be. I am Yours! I choose you now and for eternity in Jesus’ name! Amen!”
About the author:
First and foremost I am a daughter of God! I am almost twenty years old. Right now I am a college student trying to earn her missions degree ~ desiring to someday become a teacher of children all across the world. I love reading, writing, drinking coffee and Jesus. My life is a beautiful story of how Jesus romanced and rescued my heart. My blog, hisladiesinwaiting.com, is a compilation of writings that came from this journey with Him. God bless you as you seek Him with all your heart and know you are loved by the Creator of the Universe, and the Lover of Your soul!