The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 "A rose is no less beautiful or sweet because of it's thorns."

Welcome back friends!  I hope this has been a good week for you.  Just a quick reminder, if you haven't read the three previous messages in this series, you may want to take a few moments to do that so you can be up to speed on today's message.  Alright, let's get started!

Did you get a chance to think about the question I asked you on Wednesday? I asked, "Are you basing your worth and value on what others say about you or how they treat you?"  This is a tough question to ask yourself.  It was definitely a hard one for me because for many years, I didn't even realize I was doing this, or how messed up my way of thinking was.  I thought this was just how people normally thought about things.  I was on an emotional roller-coaster ride with each new twist and turn that came into my life.  When you have self-worth and rejection issues, it distorts the truth. There is a constant struggle with your emotions and thoughts because all you can hear in your mind is the negative self-talk, which is what you weigh everything against.

Okay, so how do you know if you are basing your worth and value on what others say about you or how they treat you?  Here are a few examples:  You do things for people even when you don't really want to, you feel the need to seek compliments from others to build yourself up, you feel angry and hurt when others don't treat you the way you treat them, you try to impress others to make them like you, you get worried and feel bad if someone acts like they don't like you, you don't share your opinion because you're afraid you won't be liked or someone will think you're stupid, you may also feel the need to defend yourself by making excuses.  I have done each and every one of these things over the years.  My way of thinking was so far from how God wanted me to think about myself.  So far from the Truth!  I finally realized that there could be no moving forward if I was going to stay stuck in old, destructive mindsets.  I could not be the woman God created me to be if I continued to believe the lies.  When I first started making a conscious effort to change the way I think, it was a battle.  Not only was I fighting against what I had normally done, but I was also fighting against the enemy, who did not want me to be free in this area.  He didn't want me to know the truth.  He wanted me to stay beat down, living in fear and doubt.  The enemy knows how powerful we can be when we know who we really are in Christ.  God already had a plan set in place to help me along in this new journey.  He wanted me to finally be free of these chains.  He knew it was going to be worth all the pain I would face.  God was starting the process of cleaning out the ugly, nasty wounds in my heart, so that I could walk in the freedom He desired for me.  I've learned that we have to face our pain to be able to move forward.  It is not easy by any means to face the pain and the lies we've been telling ourselves over the years, but how much worse it would be for us to stay stuck in our mess and never truly be free.

This is where I will close for today my friends.  Join me on Monday for my next post entitled, "Just What the Doctor Ordered."  Here's something for you to think about over the next few days:  It is a dangerous thing to base your worth and value on others.  People change, which means their opinions change.  You are not something to be thrown away when someone changes how they feel about you.  Your worth and value are not dependent on what anyone else says about you or how they treat you. You are unique and special in your own way.  You are not meant to be like anyone else.  The Creator of the Universe designed you and carefully shaped you to be who you are.  You are His greatest Masterpiece!  If someone else doesn't like you then that's okay.  It doesn't make you any less valuable if they don't give you their "approval."  God approves of you and He has some wonderful plans for you.  He wants you to walk in freedom and be ALL He created you to be.  Keep thinking about what you're thinking about and ask God to reveal the lies you've been believing about yourself.  Until next time my friends, be blessed!

*Scripture Verses to Encourage You-

" For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." ~Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

"Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." ~Galatians 5:1 (MSG)

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." ~Romans 12:2