Insecurities

Opening prayer for YOU:
Please God, help whoever is reading this article to feel secure in your love. Please help them understand that they can reach out to you and speak to you at anytime. Please bless their day and surround them with your presence. Please help them know how much you love them, even though they may be struggling or unhappy with themselves.

One of my friends recently expressed to me some of her insecurities about her appearance. The conversation reminded me of myself a few years ago. My appearance, especially my imperfections and my size, were almost always on my mind. I often looked at other girls and felt jealous of their appearance and I would compare myself to them or wish that I looked more like them. I felt unhappy with myself and I never felt 'ok' or good enough. Although I was striving for 'beauty', what I truly desired was to feel accepted. I wanted to be released from the cycle of trying harder to look like other 'more beautiful' girls but, after every attempt to change my self, being left still feeling unhappy and dissatisfied.

Jesus Christ removed me from the cycle of insecurity in which I was stuck. I still have times when I feel unhappy with myself, or when I base my value and self-worth off things that are of this world, but deep down, I know that Jesus loves me anyway even with all my insecurity and imperfections. His love makes me good enough!

I have been having trouble with this the past couple days. I am in a study group at school and we often talk about our grades, not only for the class we are taking, but also the grades we received in past classes. After these conversations I am left feeling unsatisfied, sad, and lost. I feel like I am falling back into the trap of deeming my value and worth of things of this world rather than resting securely in Jesus's love. Why do I forget that it doesn't matter what grades we get on our exams and in our classes? Besides, everyone in my study group goes to class and is bright and I think that we will all do well in our classes. I think I feel insecure when we talk about grades because I start to base my self-worth off the scores. I even get worried that if I score poorly they might kick me out of the study group! In actuality, these thoughts are ridiculous. I'm feeling frustrated with this dilemma and I am going to try to speak about grades and scores less often. I will try to stop asking others about their scores and I will try to not share my past grades or scores unless someone specifically asks. I just want to let go of all the 'comparing' and enjoy my class and enjoy the time I have studying with my classmates.

Here is my prayer for today:

Please Jesus Christ, take away my insecurities. Please replace them with my confident hope in one day being with you in your embrace, and help me rest in the security of your endless love. You see me as whole and your value of me comes from my place as your daughter. Please help me feel confident and do Your will God. Today I will set behind the value that the world gives me, value based on looks, exam scores, charm, and success, and instead I will let You determine my worth and value. I feel so happy to be your daughter, a princess in your eyes, and I want to glorify you with my presence on this earth. Thank you for having patience with me. My heart and life are yours. 

And here is a link to an inspirational article about how to trust God:
http://tirzahmag.com/2014/04/28/sincerely-trust-god/