Most of us live in a society where we are bombarded daily with images of stick thin women (who mostly starve themselves to look like that) and these images often translate that if you don’t look like this you are fat or ugly. In other words we are not worthy. The sad thing is, there are way too many of us and our daughters who are buying into this foolishness and we must begin to view ourselves as God does. We must work on loving and embracing ourselves from the inside out.
This past Saturday, I went to a job fair at a retail chain. Leading up to that, my self-esteem had been pretty low, I was battling depression and feelings of hopelessness along with being too old and fat. Key words “was battling”! Because by Saturday morning, I had the victory!!
Of course our enemy gave it one last shot. When the alarm sounded at 6am I woke up to a throbbing sinus headache. That was not good! I lay in bed and prayed and fell back asleep until 7am. I felt better, but still not 100%, so I spent another 15 minutes talking to God about how great He was and thanking him for my impending interview. By 7:15am I was good to go and got up.
I didn’t get to piddle or really enjoy my coffee as I had hoped, (halfway through it was cold) because I had to fill out the application, which by the way I had had for over 2 weeks. Yes, I had skimmed over it and thought to myself, “No problem I'll fill in the information from my résumé.” Hum, it took longer than anticipated. Note to self—don’t ever do that again! Nonetheless I was determined to not be flustered by my own doing, so I forged on.
There was an almost overwhelming confidence radiating from inside that wasn’t there the day before. I realized I was no longer concerned about my age or that the black dress slacks I was wearing were about 7 years old and my brocade blazer was even older. These were things I had struggled not to think about all day Friday. I just keep addressing each issue with what the Word of God had to say about me. And I kept my focus on what God’s favor means and the power it has. And low and behold girls, this was the confidence that was whelming up inside me.
Instead of driving my daughter’s car, I opted to walk and enjoy the beauty of the fall flowers and the changing colors of the leaves. The closer I got to the store the more confident I became. I wasn't concerned if I had to stand in line for hours; I was prepared, able, willing and ready! All in the power of being confident in who I was—a daughter of the Most High God!
I arrived five minutes after it started and got to speak with someone right away. I was hoping to snag one of the seasonal part-time jobs they were offering, but they felt I would be suited to work in the pharmacy as a pharmacy technician. The interviewer felt as though I would be a good fit helping the elderly and sick clientele. God reminded me, He is capable of doing—much more than I had hoped for.
The job is not mine yet, but I made it through the first step, came home and took an online test for them and will have my second interview prayerfully sometime next week.
Sisters (especially my more mature sisters) don’t buy into what the world says is beautiful; embrace with every ounce of your being, what God says is beautiful to Him. When our confidence is in the Lord, we cannot lose! If you are in need of paid work, don’t let the world tell you that you are too old, not attractive enough, or you are lacking because you don’t have a college degree. Don’t listen to the lies—don’t allow the latest fashion trends to dictate how you are going to feel about yourself! It doesn’t matter if you are just getting out of school, are overweight or haven’t worked in years; it is nothing God can’t handle.
How we really feel about ourselves becomes obvious on the outside no matter who you are. I know physically beautiful women who have low self-esteem, and that just goes to show it is not so much about what we look like as much as it is what we think and believe about ourselves. Once we can begin to love who we are from the inside then it will manifest itself on the outside. There will be a great aurora of confidence that people will see and feel. Yes, the confidence of others does rub off on you just as their negativity can.
You are worthy because God says you are, not because of anything you have done. We are privileged because Jesus died so we would be. We just need to work on living the royal life we are entitled to from the inside out!
1Peter 3:3-4 (NIV) "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry 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."
Until next week….be blessed!!
Love & Hugs
Ponnie
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