Spiritual 5:
I think we are all guilty of looking in the mirror and picking out all our imperfections or comparing ourselves to the girl who seems to always look perfect. I know I am. This blog post is really for me today. I have a bad habit of focusing on things I would like to change about me rather than being thankul for how the Creator made me.
We see every little thing that we don’t like about ourselves and think about how life would be so much better if these things were changed. How, if we could just lose that last 10 ten pounds, then I would finally feel pretty. If we had the perfect hair, skin, or outfits, then people would love us more. We imagine ourselves without all our flaws and wish that dream could become reality. When the truth is, even if our wish came true, and we somehow morphed into that ‘perfect’ body or had those perfect things, it would always be something else that we wanted more of. It’s a never-ending dangerous cycle of wanting more.
I know what you’re thinking. Here comes the God thinks your beautiful speech. This is true, God does think you’re beautiful, but did you also know that it actually hurts God when you criticize how He made you? Just take a look at Isaiah 45:9-10. This verse says, “Destruction is certain for those who argue with their creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying “Stop, you are doing it wrong!” Does the pot exclaim, “How clumsy can you be?” How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father and mother, “Why was I born? Why did you make me this way?” Read that again. Destruction is certain for those who argue with their maker.
Does that mean that God is going to shoot a lightning bolt down from the sky to hit me the next time I obsess over what I don’t like about myself? I don’t think so, because if He did then I know I would be pretty crispy by now. So what could God possibly mean by “destruction is certain for those who argue with their maker”? Well, let’s think about this. I know that when I think about everything that’s wrong with myself I end up feeling unlovable. When I wish that I had flawless tan skin I’m hit with the reality that that will never happen. When I wonder why I just can’t get that 6-pack like many other women have, I just feel ugly and dejected. Every single time I criticize my flaws I end up feeling sad, discouraged, and frustrated.
The Oxford Dictionary define destruction as, “The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.” Every time I criticize my appearance I damage my self-esteem. Every time I think I’m ugly my joy begins to dissipate. Every time I compare myself to another girl I bring my confidence lower and lower. By criticizing how God made me I bring destruction to myself. I make myself feel miserable when God created me to feel hope, love, peace and joy.
A great verse to reflect on when you are feeling less than beautiful is Psalm 139:13-18, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mothers womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous, how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 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. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!”
The next time you are struggling with your appearance read the truth about yourself in the word of God over, and over, and over again until it’s ingrained in your mind. Remind yourself that not only are you hurting yourself but that you are insulting your Maker when you criticize how He made you. Make the decision to choose to be content with who you are rather than to make yourself miserable. Choose to live with joy! Set your heart and mind on things above, where Christ is, not on earthly things below (Colossians 3:1).
Journal 5: write down 5 things that you are grateful for today.
Fitness 5:
weighted lunges x10 ea side
mountain climbers x20
air squats x20
jump rope x3 min
repeat x4
Many Blessings!
Brit
Makin Jes Famous
Romams 1:16