Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ -Matthew 22:36-39

Have you ever wished you were never born? Have you ever hated your life because of what people have said about you? Have you ever come to point where you feel like giving up? I know I have.

So much of our pain and loneliness is a result of a poor self-image. We “know” God loves us, but we don’t love ourselves, which proves that we don’t really know God loves us, created us, and made us just how He wanted us!

Jesus said to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we don’t love ourselves, we’ll never  be in a position to love and impact others. So how do we learn to love ourselves?

The Solution: Fight lies with the truth.

Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.” We need to put all of our trust and worth into God’s hand. We need to see ourselves as He sees us. We do this by spending time in His Word, in His presence, and around other believers!

When other people or our own thoughts tell us we’re fat, we’re not good enough, we’ll never be successful, we’ll never find someone to marry, we don’t have any friends, nobody likes us, or _____(fill in the blank), we must recognize  that those are all lies, purposed to hold us captive. We must replace those thoughts with what God says about us.

Here are some thoughts I’ve been thinking on when lies come my way:

• There has never been and never will be anyone else like you.

• “You will make a lousy anybody else, but you are the best “you” in existence.”
  

• God doesn’t take time to make a nobody. – Zig Ziglar
  

• Most of us spend most of our lives trying to prove ourselves to people, when all we have to do is prove ourselves to God. –Mark Batterson

• “God will help you become all you can be, but He will never help you become successful at being someone else.” –Joyce Meyer

One of the greatest battles we will all face is overcoming a poor self image. The only solution is replacing what people have said about you and the negative thoughts that come into your mind with what God says about you.

Two books that helped me with self-image issues are: Soul Print by Mark Batterson and See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar!

Jesus really does love you. He wants you to love you too. Be confident in who He created you to be.

Thoughts?

Serve Your Way to the Top – 7 Lessons I Learned While Serving My Way onto a Church Staff

Lesson 2 – Be Comfortable With Yourself

As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. – I Cor. 12:18

I received a card from a student the other day that really blessed me. At the end of the card it read, “You’ve taught me so many things over the years, but I think my favorite is that life is always best when you can be yourself. Please never stop being you. It’d be a tragedy to lots of people.”

“Please never stop being you. It’d be a tragedy to lots of people.”

I read those words over and over again. Why? Because isn’t it easy to think life would be better if you were someone else? If you were doing what someone else was doing? The truth is – when we’re not ourselves – it’s tragic to others and to God.

I’m learning more, now than ever, to be comfortable with myself. The grass is never greener on the otherside. The truth is, if we were in other peoples shoes, did what they did, or had what they had long enough – we’d feel the exact same way we do with what we do and what we have. So in what areas should you be comfortable with yourself in?

1.)  How You Look - None of us can change our genes – we’re never going to look like anyone else. So quit trying!

2.) Your Calling - I Cor. 12:18 says God put every member of the body of Christ where it has pleased Him. The place God has called us to is the best place we could ever serve in. Stop wanting to do what other people are called to do, and focus on what He’s called you to do.

3.) Your Weaknesses – We all have them! Everyone already knows we have them – so stop trying to cover them up and admit them!

4.) Your Strengths - You’re gifted because of God – He’s given you your strengths. So give yourselves to them and develop!

When you’re comfortable with yourself, people will like you, people will follow you, doors will open, and God can use you more often! When you’re not yourself – it’s a trajedy to everyone around you.

(To the person who wrote me that card – Thank you so much and know that it’s blessing more people than just me because I’ll teach that everywhere I go).

¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. . .” -Psalm 139:14

“Don’t Take Yourself too Seriously. Learn to Laugh at Yourself, Everyone else is.”

Has anyone else other than me struggled being comfortable with yourself?

When I was younger, I was not comfortable with my weight, then my intelligence, then the size of my chin/head, the list could go on and on.

After years of living that way I’ve come to realize it is nothing but a waste of time and energy.

The other day I had someone ask me if I had a chew in (because my chin sticks out) – people thought I would get offended. The truth is – it didn’t offend me at all! I’m comfortable with myself and if someone doesn’t like me for who I am, I’m not going to waste my life getting wrapped up in worrying about their opinion of me.

The truth is that we’re never going to get another life, body, set of gifts, personality, etc.

Be grateful for who you are and what you have and you’ll find yourself having a lot more confidence.

I like what Abraham Lincoln said:

“I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end, when I come to lay down the reins of power, I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me. I do the very best I know how; the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing it to the end.”

When You Learn to Be Comfortable with Yourself You’ll:

1.) Care a Lot Less of what People Think About You

2.) Be able to take a lot more risks

3.) Be able to accomplish a lot more

4.) Be able to help a lot more people

5.) Be a lot easier to be around – People will like you!

Hope this helps!