Securing the Insecurity

Today, I want you to do something for me. Please? Just hear me out.

Clear your mind and read this post with an open heart, an open mind, and open ears.

That's all I ask, and you'll understand why once you really start to see where I'm headed with this post.

It is my prayer that you walk away from this post with a heart of gold that's filled with nothing but God's overwhelming grace, goodness, love, and truth.

Ready?

Let's do this.

As women, there are many things we're told in life that we refuse to believe, and I can tell you right now that, "you are beautiful" is at the top of the charts. We stamp those physical appearance compliments with satan in bright red. We don't believe that we're beautiful and we don't believe that we're good enough.

But guess what? We are.

I don't care how many times you've swallowed the lie that you're not pretty enough and you have no value.

What I care about is making sure you never have to swallow that lie ever again. Because that's exactly what it is- a LIE -and that's what it always will be- a LIE.

Still not convinced? Fine.

Believe the words sent to us by our Creator instead.

You are so beautiful, my beloved, so perfect in every part. - Song of Solomon 4:7 [NLT]

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. - Psalm 139:13-16 [NIV]

So many of us have become so distracted and obsessed with finding our self worth in our physical appearance that we forget Who it's really found in. And I'll give you a hint- it's not us.

Photo-shopped advertisements on every corner, magazine cover, and social media website tell us what we're supposed to look like. We delight ourselves in those things because we believe that those things are what define beauty.

"I wish I looked like her."

"Why can't my body look like that?"

"I hate my thighs."

"I'm so fat."

"I should have run that extra mile."

"Why am I so ugly?"

"Did I seriously just eat every bite of that?"

"What can I do to catch his attention?"

I'm twenty years old, and these aren't even half of the questions and complaints that I've asked and placed on myself growing up in this world. If I were to ask each and every one of you if you could relate, I doubt I'd receive the chirping of crickets as my answer. We've all been there, and some of us are still there. It's hard to escape the lie when we're fed it multiple times a day by the society in which we live. I allowed Satan to flood my heart with such evil and darkness for the longest time. Those were some hard years, but in the midst of it all something incredible happened. I outran Satan- for good.

You can sit here and tell yourself that this is just like every other cliche article you've ever read about beauty and take nothing from it. OR, you can stand up, guard your heart, and accept the truth that you ARE beautiful and you ARE worthy. You are a rare, marvelous, and flawless jewel in the eyes of the King. And ladies, your worth is found in HIM. Nowhere else, my friends. It is in God and God alone to Whom of which your identity, your worth, and the entirety of who you are all belong to.

The only type of beauty that you should allow to define you is the beauty of your own heart. Your outside appearance is minimal compared to this! And I hope as the women after God's own heart that we are, you have come to know the same.

Don't let Satan tell you otherwise.

Allow the love of God to transform who you are into who you are called to be. You are who you are for a reason. You were created with every good and right intention. He molded you in His very own hands!

Stop looking in the mirror and obsessing over your flaws. In the eyes of the King, you are flawless. We are perfectly imperfect women, yet so deeply loved and cherished by a God who delights in our beauty- each and every day.

Did you catch that?

God is looking down on you, right now, and guess what He sees? A flawless jewel. His flawless jewel. He sees you. The messy sinner that you are, you. And me. Rare, flawless jewels. Us.

I struggle with that- rightfully so! What kind of God gives His one and only Son, the ultimate sacrifice, in exchange for our sins?? What kind of God bends down to dust off our dirt so that we can shine in His goodness endlessly, as the beautiful and flawless jewels that we are in His eyes. What kind of God does that!?

Ours.

Ladies, you are worth more than what you give yourself credit for. You are worth more than the calories you count each day. You are worth more than the clothes you wear. You are worth more than the number on the scale. You are worth more than any materialistic thing you've ever spent time or money on to "better yourself." You are worth more than the lies that Satan feeds you,so stop swallowing them! You are PRICELESS. And I hope you're wearing this label loud and proud, because you were most certainly bought with a price, and it was very costly indeed.

You may be an eighteen year old young lady or a middle aged woman reading this article. No matter your age, we are all daughters of the King and this truth belongs to each and every one of us. Hear this. Know this! Embrace this! BE this.

Stop conforming to the ways of the world because we are not of the world. When you swallow the lie that you're not beautiful, you also compromise your faith. Been there, done that, and I'll never go there again.

I know that I am beautiful. God made me who I am, and it is because of who I am today that I am able to sit here and proclaim this incredible truth.

You are beautiful, my sisters.

Identify yourself as the daughter of a King who loves you more than anyone else ever could- because that's who you are and that's exactly what He does.

Always remember and never forget just how beautiful you are.

Be the beautiful you that you are, and be abundantly blessed today.

“We're going to have to let truth scream louder to our souls than the lies that have infected us.”

― Beth Moore

About the Author :

Emily Townsend is a 20 year old southern girl who has a heart for loving Jesus, loving others, and serving the world. She is currently pursuing a career in ministry as she continues to fall madly in love with Jesus by the day. Emily is also obsessed with books, coffee, koalas, Pinterest, Pilates, and weddings. Her daily dose of life consists of a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus. You can also find her blogging on her personal blog The Joy of My Joy.

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