We live in a rapidly evolving society. We are surrounded by people
telling us we should ‘be like this’, ‘act like this’, ‘achieve this’, ‘look
like this’ etc. The list is ever-growing.
‘If only’, and ‘what if’s’ are constant companions of our
minds. ‘If only I could just have this, then things will be better’…’What if I’d
have done that differently, then everything would've worked out.’
Self-criticism is the constant companion of the mirror. Many
of us don’t embrace what we see (let alone accept it!)
It’s a trap - it’s suffocating - it’s a lie.
It decreases our perception of our value, our self-worth.
I used to place my value on my achievement – don’t get me
wrong, getting ‘good’ grades is great. But when it takes over – it’s self-destructive.
I thought I had to be better. I thought I’d be accepted if I did better. I
thought my value derived from what I achieved – it became draining – it took
over.
Another big killer for me was (and still can be!) physical
appearance. Many of us hate what we see. We can’t stand our reflection in the mirror.
We place our value on how we look – and boy oh boy it can be demoralising,
frustrating, stressful. How we look cannot and will never sustain us.
Why do we do this to ourselves? To each other?
I am now on the journey of looking to my creator for my worth.
- Our creator creates us as masterpieces. “For we are God’s masterpiece...” (Ephesians 2:10)
- We are a one-of-a-kind creation. “…He has created us anew in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:10)
- We were created for a significant, unique purpose. “… so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10)
I take great
comfort, peace, joy and freedom in soaking in God’s love – I don’t have to be
anything but who he created me to be. You don’t have to be anything more than
who you already are. EMBRACE who YOU are.
His love is
present and he’s waiting to lavish his love on you.
We all have a
deep soul hunger – we may try to fill the hole with earthly things – but the
only satisfaction we will find for that is in the presence of God. Our value,
our “wholesomeness” is found in him.
I love this quote from the book “becoming myself” by Stasi
Eldredge ‘Our worth is not based on what
we do, which life path we choose, or what we believe. Our worth is inherent in
the fact that we are image bearers of the living God. Our worth is based on the
fact that we are alive. We are human beings. Our worth is immeasurable.’
True freedom is flourishing in knowing and loving who you
are.
I challenge you to journey into becoming yourself; see your immeasurable
value and worth through the love of God.
I’ll keep you posted.
