In today’s society, we are often trying to keep up with the latest fashion trend or technology & sometimes we feel as if, “well if I don’t have this or that then, I’m not successful or I’ve failed…”. We sometimes allow people/things to define us as individuals.
I struggled with insecurities; from teen to adulthood. No matter how many times I would hear, “you’re so beautiful”, I never really believed it. I struggled to love myself because I would look in the mirror & see so many flaws…especially when I compared myself to what & who I seen on t.v.
Society says, “your skin isn’t light enough, you’re not skinny enough, you don’t make enough money, look at your background.” We’re often labeled & judged and that sometimes causes us to feel some type of way about ourselves. We start feeding into other’s opinions of us, their definition of us; til we start believing their words about us and who THEY say we are but, what about God’s Word about us & who HE SAYS WE ARE? We become insecure & doubt self because now, we believe the hype.
Know that opinions aren’t necessarily truth (especially when it contradicts the Word of God). They’re just the thoughts & words of people. Instead of believing “their words”, remember THE WORD that says, “God is NOT A MAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE…(Numbers 23:19)“. People will lie to us & deceive us but, God NEVER DOES! The enemy is gonna say everything opposite of what God says. So if He says, “trust and believe” the enemy says “doubt”. To be insecure is to lack confidence/trust , which brings on doubt. And once doubt has crept in, faith has seeped out. (Heb. 11:6). We begin to doubt God’s truth & believe the lies (2Thess. 2:1-12, Romans 1:25, 2Tim 4:3-4). All the enemy wants us to do is to doubt because God takes pleasure in us having confidence & faith in Him and his plan for our lives.
We could lack confidence within ourselves and fail to even try to be better; not reaching our full potential. Have you ever been afraid to pursue a dream or a goal because you either, listened to a negative opinion from someone or maybe that negative voice you were listening to in your own head? Or maybe you’ve held on to something painful from your past & you’ve asked God for forgiveness but, still haven’t quite forgiven yourself? I’ve been through all of this, until I learned to trust in God more. I had to learn (still learning) to first believe in myself & have confidence in myself before I could believe Him the way he wants me to. I learned that lack of self-forgiveness brings on insecurities: failing to believe God’s Word that once I’ve repented from all of my sins, He has forgiven me. So then, I began believing the lie that the enemy (Satan) spoke unto me saying, I’m still guilty…causing me to act upon that feeling.
And when you feel bound by the guilt of your past, bound by negativity (words/environment), you become bound in the mind & your spiritual growth becomes stagnated. You can’t even grow as an individual in a career because, you’ve held your self captive…in the mind. Every negative word spoken to us to make us think/feel we’re not good enough for people, for that job, or for God, IS A LIE! When we allow those negative words to take root within us, we start allowing them to define our character & then our personality starts to change. Some people start acting differently: shutting themselves off from family/friends, becoming depressed, developing suicidal thoughts. We no longer begin to act like we use to & those thoughts and feelings ARE NOT of God! (Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”).
As believers of Christ, we also doubt (him/ourselves) but, to doubt God is a sin (Romans 14:23); that’s where we should come in to ask God to “help my unbelief” (Mark 9:23-25) and get our deliverance. Deliverance of bondage & captivity of the mind; because that’s where we continue to replay those negative thoughts. Then we hold those feelings within our heart. And how can God come into our heart if we occupy that space with negativity/impurities? [search scripture (The Holy Bible) on Clean/Unclean] (1Cor. 6:19).
Don’t let opinions from Man cause you to doubt yourself or God & whom He has called you to be, don’t allow insecurities/fear keep you from growing/reaching your full potential (2Tim 1:7), YOU CAN BE FREE! Remember that every other voice is a lie when it contradicts The Word of Truth.
It’s important for us, as believers, to know that THINGS are good to have but, they won’t take us into Heaven. (Mark 8:36 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?) Once we learn to seek the things that pleases God more, everything else that we desire, he’ll bless us with…with or without asking for them (Mark 6:33). Often times we prefer to hear about the blessings of God, how awesome & how forgiving he is every time we mess up. How he love us so UNCONDITIONALLY. All true & good to know 🙂 He’s just that loving & merciful. However, while God is blessing us with all of these wonderful things that aren’t necessarily eternal but, just added bonuses for us to enjoy in life; how are we, as believers, blessing Him? He promised to supply our every need (Philip.4:19) and he also promised us eternal life (John 3:16, John 10:10, Romans 6:23, 1 John 2:25). NOT things! We can enjoy things on Earth but, we can not take them with us when we depart…once our spirit leaves our body. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with asking God to bless you with the things that you want or desire but, they’re ONLY temporary . There are things we have to do & practice in order to please him, if we desire to make Heaven our eternal home. Yes, we’re saved by grace but, remember our spirit (the unseen) has to please God (Heb. 11:1-6).
Empowered and Inspired 