Psalm 139:14
Do you realize that, in God’s eyes, you are perfect, complete?
What do your eyes and your heart say? What messages are in your head about who you are or who you should be?
In Psalm 139 we have a great prayer to God that helps us realize that we were created to be in awe of God’s magnificence (fearful) and that God knew exactly what He was doing when He made us – just as we are today (wonderful). He knew that today you would be messed up, struggling, sinful, challenged by the way you look, guilty about the things you have or haven’t done.
He also knew that you would be holding onto lies about yourself. Lies that were planted deep within you years ago – by well meaning family members, teasing classmates, ads on TV……. We carry these lies around with us like boulders, weighing us down and keeping us from the freedom God wants for us.
Our retreat March 21-23 explored these topics. Here are some of the reflection questions we used that you might find helpful:
- How does loving God and being loved by God impact how you see yourself?
- What lies have been planted in your mind that might be weighing you down?
- How has believing and acting upon these lies impacted your life – sense of joy, freedom, peace, power?
- What is God showing you about these lies and about how He wishes to restore your joy, freedom, peace and power by debunking them?
- What impact does your body image have on what you do or don’t do? How you spend your time? How you interact with others?
- Look in your mirror and ask God to reveal (not just physically) to you the true you – the perfect, complete you that He made and He sees.
These are not easy questions, meant to be answered quickly or lightly. You may want to take one of them into prayer each day over the next week and see how God speaks to you.
Here are some scriptures you might want to check out as you enter your times of prayer:
Psalm 139 John 21:15-19 2 Timothy 1:12 Ezekiel 13:22
John 8:44 Romans 5:6-8 1 Timothy 2:9 1 Peter 3:3-5
Matthew 10:26 Ephesians 4:24 2 Corinthians 5:17 Isaiah 40:31
John 10:10 Philippians 2:13 Ephesians 2:10 Psalm 98
We are God’s instruments in the world. He created us in His image – and He is good!!! He knows we are sinners. He knows we are not perfect in the world’s or in our own eyes. He knows we struggle with who and what we are; AND He offers us His grace and unconditional love so that we can see what He sees in us. He wants us to live a life of peace, purpose, and power. He doesn’t want us to understand and value ourselves so that we feel better about whom we are in a narrow, self-centered way. He wants to widen our vision so that we can see ourselves as He sees us – beautiful, talented, loved – so that with this new
freedom, we can serve Him with reckless abandon!
As the weather changes and the new sprouts pop through the ground, may the God of the universe bring a new spring to your step and a new sense of freedom and confidence into your heart.
~Deb Griest
