How do you see yourself?  What have you thought about yourself today, do you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror?   Think about it, reflect on it and then answer the questions below:

  • Do you feel a need to do something for others to get positive attention?
  • Do you spend your time working on climbing the Corporate Ladder, wasting precious time away from your family and life?
  • Do you spend money on material things to look good to others or to make you feel good about yourself?
  • Do you seek acceptance from others by how you look, what material things you own, or from letting others see the good deeds that you may do?
  • Do you spend time on social media looking to see how many people liked or commented on your post in order to feel good about yourself?
  • Do you spend time on material things that you think will make you happy but leave you wanting more?
  • Are you trying to fill a void with useless stuff, thoughts, and praise?
  • Do you feel the need to be perfect on the outside while feeling inadequate on the inside?

These are a lot of questions to contemplate, and if we are honest, most of us will answer yes to a few of them.  And if we reflect on it, we most likely find our worth in material things that never fill a void or being true to ourselves.  In other words, we seek our value in others, and in something that we hope will make us look and feel valuable, but they don’t.

One more question, do you desire a personal relationship with Christ? A relationship that offers genuinely amazing possibilities, and someone who loves you just as you are?  A connection that will fill that void in your heart, one that will help you find self-worth in Him with unconditional love and acceptance which will allow you to unveil your mask of insecurity to find peace and joy?  Then read on.

Our worth is in God, who created the world, life, and each of us with purpose, with love, and intent.  We are all made as unique individuals with different qualities and purposes and with loving care.  God created you intentionally the way you are!

In Psalm 139:14, God is praised for creating us all tenderly and uniquely. “ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made”

We are perfect the way we are.  God made us not to derive our worth in what people think or say about us or how we feel about ourselves, but because of who God created us to be.  Until we recognize that, we won’t find peace.

I am passionate about this topic;  I struggled with self-worth issues like many of us do.  I  found value in how I thought others perceived me.  Perception for many is real, and if we dig deep into our thought process, I guarantee most of us to find ourselves basing our self-worth on how we perceive others to see us.  It is time we accept ourselves as worthy and valuable as we are and stop being insecure about who we by other peoples perceptions but rather find our security in God.

Earthly things and the feelings of inadequacy are fleeting and ultimately unfulfilling and set unrealistic standards for ourselves and keep us in a state of “wanting more”   We easily get caught up in our daily life – jobs, family, social commitments, to-do lists, and other distractions.  We go from one thing to another, typically focused on earthly demands and pleasures that consist of what we think is what makes us valuable.

But in Mathew 6:21, Jesus reminds us that “for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be”.  This leads to perspective, when our treasure is focused on earthly things, we lose sight of our heart and ultimately lose ourselves.  But when we find our treasure focused on God and the eternal things, then our hearts are filled.

Consider what it looks like to have an eternal perspective.  How can your job, chores, life help you focus on God and things above?  Contemplate habits, what you do, or think about yourself that you can redirect your attention to God’s promises.

We need to shift our focus from us to Him. If you’re going to overcome feelings of inadequacy and be the person God’s called you to be, you need to have the courage to be different.

Ask yourself this question. Am I a people-pleaser…or a God-pleaser? 

Becoming a people please is one of the easiest traps we fall into and ultimately makes us unhappy.  When we do or say things to please others (even when we don’t feel like it) it not only hurts others but steals our joy.   In Galatians 1:10 God reminds us to be careful ” Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings or God?

That verse was one I did not know, but as I studied it hit my heart.  God’s Word is living and breathing and when we looks towards the Bible , God provides the answers we need at the right time.  He is the one we need to look towards to please through our relationship with Him and which ultimately moves us from insecurity to becoming secure in Him.

How does this help, well, our history is all of us is an all-important determiner of our behavior. Our past can shape our future but if we transform our minds, our future can be different.

For me, my past strongly affected my life I learned early to put on that mask of perfection and pleasing people to be liked. I was insecure in my feelings that if I were not perfect, I would not be valued.   Growing up a Pastor’s daughter, the message that played over and over in my mind was I had to “be perfect. I lived in a small town with strict but loving parents, but being a Pastors daughter, we had standards expected to live by. In my adult life, those feelings of perfection increased with a marriage filled with emotional abuse but a demand to make sure everything looked perfect to the outside world.

It was not until I realized through self-reflection and by talking to God with a strong desire to find peace and my true self was I able to start a journey of change and ultimately unveil that mask and find Joy.   I began with Romans 12:2, where we are told, “do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  But what did that mean?

It meant reading the Bible daily, studying the Word in detail, participating in Bible studies, praying without ceasing, and trusting God and His promises.  It also required me to surrender to God and to learn to listen and use the Holy Spirit to help me.  It is a process, it did not happen overnight, and it required me to dedicate time, shift my priorities, increase my faith, and pursue God daily and trust in His love and promises.

If you want peace, if you want to unveil your mask and find joy, if you want to find your worth, go back to the questions at the beginning.   Answer them honestly and make the decision to do the work with God’s help.   It takes time, commitment and a daily walk but the outcome is worthy.

Remember, when we spend our time and look to God as our audience on one, we learn that we no longer worry about what our neighbor thinks, what our status in life looks like, or how we look, etc.  In Him, we can unveil the mask and find that peace. He promises us that, in Corinthians 3:!8 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, we are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord.” 

If y0u have any questions or comments, please list them below or email me.

 

 

 

 

Categories A Cup of Joy