Does reading about the Proverbs 31 Woman make you cringe a little? She is strong, wise, kind, fearless, and everything I used to struggle to believe about myself. Instead of feeling encouraged, I felt inadequate. I wondered how this picture of godly womanhood could apply to someone like me.
I do it all the time. Maybe you do, too. I speak negative words about myself. Sometimes, I make a joke: “Oops, I did it again! I am so clumsy!” Sometimes, I grumble in frustration: “I’m so scatterbrained. I must be having a senior moment.” But sometimes, I am just not kind to myself: “I’m so fat, ugly, stupid…”
But, dear one, our words have power.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Why do I do the things I don’t want to do? Unfortunately, for me, it had become a recurrent question. You see, I’d been a Christian for years, decades even. Yet when faced with conflict, I always had a Fight-or-Flight response. I got angry, verbally defended myself, or ran away from the situation or relationship.
Sometimes, God’s ways don’t make sense to us. The Bible teaches us to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and the last will be first and the first last. Have you ever thought, “But this seems backward?”
Is there a difference between knowing who God says you are and acting like that person? I once thought there must be some magical way to get God’s truth of my identity from my head to my heart. There must be a trick to actually “receiving” His gift of love and feeling the freedom His word promises.
When someone is in love, people say, “You are glowing!” Perhaps this is because feeling loved warms our souls and illuminates our whole being. However, this doesn’t only apply to romantic love. Knowing we are loved changes us. We perceive ourselves differently, act differently, react differently, and love differently.
“Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” Proverbs 19:2 (ESV) Today, I watched a car swerving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, and wondered if hurrying to save 5…
A skewed perspective can also make our problems seem worse than they are. A pebble appears huge when viewed up close. But when viewed from a distance, it looks small. Similarly, while we perceive our difficulties as insurmountable boulders, even mountains, God sees them as mere pebbles on our path. God even tells us “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.’ declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8, NIV)
Perspective can cloud our judgment about people and make our problems seem worse. But we can seek a Godly perspective about people, places, and problems in life.
After I became a Christian I was told I was reborn spiritually. And I read this verse. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come”. (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV) The problem was I didn’t feel like a new creation. No matter how hard I tried, I was the same old me, making the same old mistakes. So I pursued perfection and tried to please people But this was a no win situation
Do you think you are beautiful? I don’t know about you, but this question actually makes me cringe. Because, no, I definitely do not think I am beautiful. And I am not alone. A Dove survey found only 2% of women aged 18-64 considered themselves beautiful and 96% wouldn’t use the word “beautiful” when describing themselves.
