"The life of a God Girl centers around not what others think of her or do to her but who He is. She defines her life by the fact that she belongs to him. The most pivotal moment in her life was the moment she said yes to his call. When she heard him say "I love you" and she believed it." - Hayley DiMarco founder of Hungry Planet
When you give your life to Jesus, the things people say about you should pale into insignificance. Why? Because once you've given your life to Him you are always enough. He died for you, He looked at you and thought "WOW she's a masterpiece". That fact is irreversible. To Him you will always be a masterpiece, whether you believe it or not. When He died for you, He hoped you would say; "WOW He believes I'm worthy of His unchanging, undeserving love and I believe that too". It's true; Jesus died to know YOU, so YOU would know YOU are the daughter of a king, a child of God.
But do you believe that? Do you hold onto what Jesus says about you and take it to be true?
Sometimes a rift occurs between what Jesus says about you and what you believe. When you listen to the untruths that people speak over you and decide to believe those lies, they define you. As kids, we are often given nicknames that stick with us for life. (One of mine is “specky four eyes” which kind of makes sense because I wear glasses.) However, some of the lies come from within; the names we give ourselves when we’re feeling our worst. They aren’t positive or empowering, but self-effacing, indicating what we assume makes us different or “uncool”. We give ourselves these labels as though they are permanent name badges by which people should recognize us. SPOILER- Jesus names us. No one else. He knows that our minds are our battlefields and that's why He encourages us to "set our minds on the things above" Colossians 3:2 and know that we are His work and His “works are wonderful” Psalm 139:14. What I want to ask you is; Do you let negative affirmations rule your mind or is your mind consumed by Jesus and what He says? It’s important to make sure your thoughts are lining up with God’s truth, so that you can live in a godly way. You may want to live a life pleasing God but in order to do that effectively you must firstly cultivate a mind that pleases God. That means filling your mind with Jesus’ truth. You see your thought patterns shape how you live your life. If you don’t believe what you read in the Bible – that “you are fearfully and wonderfully made” Psalm 139:14 and a “child of God” John 1:12 then you are merely paying God lip service. Lip service will not change your life. Grasping what the Bible says and allowing it to consume your thinking and your actions, will!
You must recognize that what God says about you in His word is permanent, but the opinions of others are not. Jesus doesn't need you to fit into a certain pair of jeans, he doesn't need you to be more intelligent or wealthier, Jesus doesn't care whether you have an iphone 11 or a Nokia Brick. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf says "We don't need to be 'more' of anything to start to become the person God intended us to become". God loves us where we're at. All He asks is that you believe that fact. I pray that you would allow Jesus' voice to speak louder in your life, I hope the voices that speak insecurity and untruth, whether its your own voice or the world's, would be stripped away and you'd listen to the voice of your creator. I pray His voice would be the one you follow.
As it says in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” As followers of Jesus we are God’s instruments for emulating His loving and accepting nature, and passing on TRUTH. I would suggest that when your mind is filled with the affirmations of Jesus, you will WANT to share what He says about you with others. In fact, you probably won’t be able to contain it because it is so astronomically different from what the world says. Why would you keep good news from those you care about? Not only will you be able to abandon the labels that have stuck with you, but you will lead the way for others to be free of stigma, untruths and self-loathing.
If you project insecurity and under confidence, how does this reflect on Jesus? Have you ever thought about that? Committed believing means accepting AND reflecting Jesus' unconditional love. So, when people meet you, does it make them curious about what you know and believe? Are you different enough? Put simply- Do people meet Jesus when they meet you? If not, then maybe it’s time to start meditating on the verses of truth, allow them to change your thinking so you can change the thinking of others by just being YOU!
Putting it into Practice-
It says in Romans- “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” and that’s what I challenge you to do today; Read the Bible and proclaim the truth over yourself. It might help to write verses on post it notes, stick them on your mirror and read them out loud every time you look at your reflection. Maybe you could listen to some worship songs such as 'I am who You say I am' by Hillsong. Remember, when you sing the words, don’t just pay God lip service, but truly believe what you are singing. Finally, a great resource is the Father’s love letter which has lots of verses from the Bible collated as a message from God to You.
Whatever you do today, let God transform your mind with His truth- YOU ARE WORTHY!!