1 Peter 3:3-4

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. - 1 Peter 3:3,4

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Using Gods Love as a Weapon

Hi Girls!

Well, I’ll be talking about how we can get rid of low self-esteem with Gods love.

Low self-esteem comes out of us looking for a real love, and finding we cannot attain it because we are not beautiful. But when we realise that Christ in Heaven loves us, and that we need to give up all thoughts of our own beauty, all thoughts of ourselves up to Him, and present ourselves as living sacrifices- that is when low self-esteem gets driven back, and the defeat of it begins. With Christs love we can all battle against it.

First of all, I think the best thing we can do to rid ourselves of low self-esteem is to fall in love with God, and follow after His service. Does it make sense that if we lose sight of ourselves, and keep our eyes focused on God (and His love!) that we won’t hear the worlds cry, ‘You're not beautiful’?

Think about it. A woman who has truly denied herself, taken up her cross, and become entirely consumed with Jesus Christ is not going to be an insecure young woman, starving herself and obsessed with making herself look more attractive. Rather, she is so enraptured with Jesus Christ that she’s completely lost sight of herself. As Bishop Bardsley put it, “They care not at all what the world thinks of them, because they are entirely taken up with the tremendous realities of their King.” – The Lost Art of True Beauty, Leslie Ludy.

If you don’t give up your whole life and lay everything at Christs feet, then you are not going get rid of your low self-esteem.

So here are some ways we can all break the hold low self esteem has on us. If you think there is anything else we can do to fall in love with God more, please let us know in the comments below!

Read the Bible. (I don’t mean flick open your bible and just read. Grab a concordance, there are heaps online, look up ‘love’ and read all the verses on love- just make sure that you read in context!) Here are a few Bible verses to start you off: James 2:10, Matthew 27:11-31, Luke 23:32-34; 40-43, Mark 15:33-39, 1 John 3:1, 4:10, Proverbs 10:12, 1 John 4:8, Ephesians 5:2. To do this myself I have started a journal where I write out these love verses so that if I ever forget God's love for such a wretch as I, then I can read and remember.

So how do we learn to yield to the Spirit instead of fulfilling the lusts of the flesh? It starts with simple, everyday decisions.
Often, it starts with your morning alarm clock. Do you yield to the beckoning whisper of Christ's Spirit asking you to get up and spend time with Him, or do you listen to your own selfish desire to stay in bed? – The Lost Art of True Beauty, Leslie Ludy

Go on a date with God – http://jenniferandkathryn.blogspot.com/2011/08/dating-jesus.html
Service. By service I mean getting out there and being God's hands and feet. Being the first to wash the dishes for Mum, taking cups of tea with grans, finding the homeless in your community and making meals for them, reaching out to the hurting- I think you would be surprised how helping others can help us.

She [a former prostitute] went to hospitals and washed the wounds of the injured. She went to homes for the elderly and brushed the matted hair of the residents. “It was serving others that healed her,” Jackie [Pullinger] said. This woman who had been so battered, bruised, and wounded chose to deny herself and pour out her life for the cause of Christ. – The Lost Art of True Beauty, Leslie Ludy (brackets are mine).

Read! – Have a look at the books I suggested reading in last week’s article. Here are some more reading material you can look into: What’s So Amazing about Grace? By Philip Yancey, Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, Anything written by Charles Spurgeon or A. W. Tozer.
Poem - And He Walked
Article -  Dating Jesus.

I know this sounds easier than we all expected, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. I hope this helps you all with trying to get low self-esteem under control. Taleisha will be posting with her hints and tips next week. If you have any hints and tips on getting rid of low self-esteem please share it with us in the comments!

"Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." – 1 Samuel 12:24

~ Taleisha & Meggie

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