I Am Who He Says I Am: “Self-Love”
Wen you look in the mirror, what do you see? Are you happy with what you see? Why or why not?
I know that these questions may seem a little daunting. To be vulnerable with you all, I used to cry when I looked in the mirror. I didn’t like what I saw most of the time.
Comparison and People Pleasing
Everyday (if you’re on social media) it’s easy to dig yourself into a hole of scrolling through curated profiles. Let me emphasize, CURATED. Most people only post the best pictures of themselves and their lives. Influencers, for the most part, create content that people want to see. It was unhealthy for me to compare my entire life to the highlight reel of someone else’s.
I used to compare myself to these pretty (Instagram/Twitter) models. “Why can’t I be that pretty? I could never pull that off.” The thoughts going through my head lifted them up and brought myself down. This comparison to people I didn’t even know crushed my confidence.
On top of this, I often catered my looks to the standards of men (more like, boys). At one point of my life, I was afraid to gain weight due to someone else’s insecurity. After gaining healthy weight and working out to tone my body, my motivation was “make him regret what he did to you” (Like, Angeli, you are so annoying. Forget about him already). My body was healthy, but my heart and mind weren’t.
Looking back, I don’t know why I did this. Their approval only gave me a temporary feeling of satisfaction and I didn’t need that.
Peace
It wasn’t until recently that my confidence and self-esteem has grown.
In this season in my life, I decided to prioritize myself and my friendships, with God at the center.
“What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:9
When you think of the word confidence you don’t often think of the word peace, but they truly go hand-in-hand. Peace comes when you can silence that voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough, pretty enough, capable enough. Peace comes when you can stand up to the enemy when you can confidently stand up to the enemy, telling them “I have been fearfully and wonderfully made with and for a purpose by the Creator of all things!”
The Lord sees you as His masterpiece. The Creator of the all things beautiful, made YOU! You were created in the image of Christ! When you begin to know and believe that you are who He says you are, no one can take that away from you.
Loving Yourself
You are beautiful. You are loved. You are capable. You are significant. You are His.
Now, look at yourself again in the mirror. Repeat those statements to yourself. Love the person God created you to be. Repeat these things even if you don’t believe it yet, until you do.
Ultimately, it starts from the inside, as cheesy as it sounds. Being able to love the person He’s made you will begin to overflow. Not only will you be able to appreciate yourself more, but you’ll be able to love those around you even better. Not to mention, that “God-fidence” glow just hits different.
“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7b
Again, like I always say, please do not hesitate to reach out to BAE. We’d love to hear your testimonies and hearts. We’re all running this race together!
Praying for and loving you always,
Angeli <3