Self-Confidence

This is one of the harder topics to talk about because I think this is something everyone struggles with in some shape or form, whether they want to admit it or not. You see, no matter how good or amazing you think you are, there will always be someone who does it better.

Know how amazing you are!

I hated who I was for years, and it was only getting worse. It was only from a valley, where I had no mirrors to look at, when I started seeing my beauty. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone this, so if you happen to stumble upon this, you know a secret of mine. I used to have a really hard time watching movies and T.V. shows. Every female on the show, I’d depict what I liked about her.

“I wish I had her long hair.”

“I wish I could look that good without makeup.”

“I wish I had her smile.”

and then the one I struggled with most…

“I wish I had her body.”

Then I learned, you can wish and wish and wish, but nothings changing. So you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got. Who cares. In the end, we are all going to be old and wrinkled. It’s not always about outer beauty, but about the inner. And I know that’s a broken record everyone plays, but it’s true.

We can chase after these perfect images of women, but in the end, God gave you exactly what you need. He thinks you’re beautiful, and so do a lot of other people. We are often our own hardest critics.

Also just remember, that everyone has different tastes. Like for me, there could be the nicest looking blonde haired man in the world, but I’ll almost always think a brown or black haired man is more attractive, even if the blonde man “looks better” from the world’s standpoint. Get it? There is someone who thinks you’re more attractive than that person you wish you were more like.

Can I challenge you?

All this week, I want you to look in the mirror at some point through out the day and tell yourself 5 things that you like about yourself. You can say it in your head or even out loud but if you’re in public, some people may think you’re crazy. Hey, who cares! As Christians, we are supposed to stand out. So if you want to talk about all the things you like about yourself out loud, DO IT.
You are beautiful.

Personally, if someone told me to do this every day for a week about a few years ago, I can tell you, I wouldn’t be able to find one feature that I liked about myself. This is something I really wrestled with. Every girl that would cross my path, I would instantly start comparing my short-comings. I’m so glad that God helped me work on this because He created me beautiful and in His image.

Might as well work with what ya got.

Not only do we compare what we’re lacking physically, but what we are lacking overall. We all want to be better at something. For a long duration in my life, I had wished to be a better singer. I’d look at other people I was singing on a stage with, and be like, “dang, how am I even here… these people  are so much better than me.” But this is my calling…

But then I started thinking about how Moses did the same thing in his calling. When God called him to lead His people out of Egypt, he made up every excuse in the book. He kept saying the reasons he couldn’t, like how he had speech problems. Then, in the end, he asked God to please just send someone else.

If God called Him to it, don’t you think He gave Moses what was necessary to get the job done? After all these excuses and Moses’ plea to get someone else, God said Aaron could do the speaking, since he is a good speaker.

Two important things I got out of this, is that God gave Moses everything needed to do what God called him to, yet, he still didn’t think he was good enough. Moses even ends up doing a lot of speaking in later chapters anyways. I believe that God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. Not only that, but Moses ended up doing the very thing he said he couldn’t do. When you’re called to something, whether you say no or not, if you are being obedient, you’re probably going to end up doing that anyways.

I said I couldn’t lead worship and that I was a terrible writer. Now… I’m an author and a worship leader. When you are called to something, you’re miserable doing anything else.

The other important take away from this story, is that there will always be someone better than you. If there is not someone better than you, then you need to surround yourself with different people. You need to not only be nurturing and growing people, but there needs to be people in your life who are way better than you at things, so you can grow and be nurtured.

You need someone stronger than you in your calling, in your spirituality, and in your gifts.

Not only do you need a “Timothy” in your life, but you also need a “Paul”.

So you are called. You are gifted. And you are beautiful. You are so beautiful in the eyes of God. He made you look just the way He wanted you to look. He looks at you and sees no faults. God doesn’t look at all your flaws; He looks at all the beautiful. You look exactly how God wants you to look.

So everyday, look in the mirror. Tell yourself you like your hair. Say that you love the clothes you wear. Share about how beautiful the color of your eyes are! There are so many things that you could say each day. God did not make junk when He made you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:14). You’re shaped the way you are for a reason. You have the voice you have for a reason. The facial features you have, God designed perfectly the way He wanted. Quit looking in the mirror and thinking bad things about yourself. Ultimately, what you are saying is, “God, I know you made me the way you wanted but I don’t think you did good enough.”

Don’t let the world define beauty

Stop letting the world decide wether you are beautiful or not! The world does not know the true definition of beauty, they have a twisted, unrealistic version of of it. So if you are a Christian, go to Gods word. See what He has to say about your beauty and worth. I promise, you will not be disappointed. God thinks highly of you; He doesn’t want you looking in a mirror bashing yourself or comparing yourself to other people. There is only one blueprint for you, as my pastor John would say. You are one of a kind. You’re a snowflake.

You can’t change who you are; you can’t change the way you look. So stop trying to fit into a box. We were not made to be in boxes. We were made to stand out. If you can’t change how you look, why get upset about it, you have to deal with it anyways.

Self-confidence is attractive

I don’t know if you know this or not, ladies and gentleman, self-confidence is so attractive. Now hear me out, don’t go all crazy boasting about how beautiful and awesome you are. There is a difference between self-confidence and pride. Just being able to take compliments and walk confidentially makes you a thousand times more beautiful. You don’t need to go fishing for compliments when the Bible has plenty of those for you from someone far greater than anyone walking this earth. Know what God says about the way you look. Don’t look in the mirror and bash a beautiful thing God has made.
So, for all of this week, say 5 things about yourself that you like. Don’t do this half-heartedly. Seriously try to be more confident in who you are, you aren’t changing that. So accept it and realize how beautiful you are! Self-confidence is waiting… your move.

Good Luck!

-Chrissy