You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
Everyday we are bombarded with images of how we are supposed to look. You wake up and turn on the T.V. and instantly see a beautiful blonde that’s a size zero getting tons of attention from men. You change the channel and there is a muscular, shirtless guy with pearly white teeth, smiling back at you trying to get you to buy a product. You pick up a magazine and see pictures of a toned, super model in a bikini or sometimes wearing basically nothing. Then you walk into the bathroom and look at yourself in the mirror.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:14
Your hair is poofy, your teeth could use some whitening, you have a new zit on your forehead and you put on a few pounds this past week. You are not toned like the people you see in magazines and you don’t look as happy as they do. You think back to all the times you were made fun of for the way you looked. So you straighten your hair, glob on some makeup and run on the treadmill. You go to the gym on the weekends to try to get your muscles to look bigger. Maybe you will get more attention and be happier once you look good enough.
If the above paragraph describes your everyday life, then you feel like every other person in the world. The media constantly throws sexually alluring images at us to catch our eyes to buy products and make us feel ugly. Super stars dress like strippers because they know that everyone will be looking at them. This just causes women and men everywhere to feel like they are not good enough (and to lust!).
I have always had issues with my appearance. I always had the issue of comparing my looks with other people. Ill look at a girl and say “oh I wish I had her perfect, straight hair,” or, “I wish I had her amazing, straight teeth! I would look so much better.” I would look at famous people and models and wish I had what they had. I used to tell myself that I would never get a boyfriend or get married because I wasn’t pretty. I would look at myself in the mirror and cry because I hated how I looked. Satan had a hold of how I felt about myself and I let it happen. I knew all the verses about God looking on the heart and not on your looks but all I cared about was fitting in.
The following verses spoke to me in that hard time. It showed me that God only cares what is on the heart and that I was made in God’s beautiful image. I am His and that is all that matters! It doesn’t matter what I look like, It matters how I act and how I serve God. He cares that I follow Him, love Him, and stay pure. I realize that it is more important to please God by how I act than to please others by how I look.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
1 Peter 3:3-4
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
A few years ago I came to terms with myself. I let God show me how beautiful and unique I really was! I listened to what the Bible told me and let Him have my full heart. After I realized that God loved me for who I was, I stopped longing for worldly attention and paid more attention to Him.
Even though I have changed, I still struggle with my looks. When I do struggle, I remember that God made me and God makes beautiful things!
How to Boost your Self-esteem
- Start your morning by telling yourself you are beautiful and attractive. Find a feature that you like about yourself. That way, you are starting your day by feeling confident!
- Change your attitude! You can’t be confident if you choose to hate your looks! If you think positive, you will feel positive.
- Don’t worry about what others think. It is not important to listen to others’ thoughts about you. The only thing that matters is making God happy and living for Him!
- Compliment others on how they look. This will help boost others’ self-esteem while helping you feel like you did something nice for someone.
- Know that God gives you all the attention you need. Worldly attention will not last forever but God’s love will last for eternity.
The following video is an encouraging worship song all about how God makes beautiful things. Check it out!
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