Week four devotional

Lie #4: I’ll never be good enough.

I don’t know a single person in this world who hasn’t struggled with various degrees of insecurity. This looks different for everyone, but we all have areas in our lives where we feel like we’ll never be good enough. Never measure up. Personally, I have struggled with this my whole life. I think a lot of our insecurities stem from the fact that we are sinners at nature, and we have trouble understanding and accepting God’s grace for us. But I also think they are learned behaviors.

Have you ever been getting ready with a friend who you think is beautiful and they say something like “ugh I am so fat,” or “I am just too big for this outfit,” or “I wish I could just get rid of this flab.” Maybe you were feeling good about yourself in that moment, but then your beautiful friend called herself fat so you immediately start to look inward. You think “well if she thinks she’s fat, then what does that make me?”

For the most part, we absorb these negative thought patterns from hearing other people around us talk badly about themselves. Moms, if you have kids, please, please, please be careful of how you talk about yourself around your kids. They are like sponges, and they can either watch their mother grow up loving herself or being down on herself. Ladies, not only do your words have an impact on how YOU see yourself, but they also have an impact on the people around you. Your friends, your loved ones. Our society has created these standards for us in terms of what’s beautiful and what’s not. But our standards on how beautiful we are should stem from something bigger; something constant; something more…  

Deuteronomy 7:6 says “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”

His treasured possession. That’s what we are to Him. How hurtful must it be to God for us to look at his treasured possession in the mirror and say that this treasure isn’t good enough? Y’all this may sound a little redundant from previous devotions, but it’s because I want to point out to you how many different terms of affection God uses for us throughout the bible. He calls us his masterpiece, his treasured possession, his friend, his sons and daughters, his beloved, his bride. The list goes on. These terms of endearment are for you. You are good enough. Stop using words that tear yourself down, and replace them with words that lift you up.

I want to encourage you this week to talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend. If someone you loved said they looked <insert negative word of choice here>, wouldn’t you respond with encouragement and point out their good qualities? If they wanted to lose weight, you would make sure they knew they were already beautiful, but you would also encourage them to get healthy. Why can’t we speak this way to ourselves? Talk to yourself this week the way you would talk to a friend. Speak encouraging words to yourself, and when you feel tempted to talk negatively, turn your eyes to Jesus and ask him to show you how loved you are. He will.

My hope throughout this journey is that you’ll start to see yourself differently, but also that you would think positive thoughts about yourself. If you’ve believed the lie that you’re not good enough, in any aspect of your life, fight it with truth. Fight it with Deuteronomy 6:7. Because you are his treasure.

You will see physical change to your body. If you are completing the workouts and nourishing your body with good, clean foods, you will notice physical changes. You may already be seeing them!! And that’s amazing! You should be SO SO proud. But don’t let that be it. I’m praying for you and for your heart, and that you would develop such a love for yourself based on how much you are loved by God. So let’s do this. Get your workouts in this week, and speak positive thoughts to yourself. Treat yourself like a treasured possession. Treat yourself like you would treat your best friend.

Week 4! Y’all you are almost halfway through this program. Be proud of where you are and of what you’ve accomplished. You. Can. Do. This. Here we go!!