Do you, like myself and so many others, struggle with your own self-worth? I recently started reading a new book, which I will absolutely recommend. The Burden of Better: How a comparison free life leads to joy, peace, and rest; by Heather Creekmore. The idea of comparison really does steal our joy and I am excited to learn how to break this very bad habit and find my own joy, peace, and rest.

When I see myself in a picture, I don’t see the 53-year-old woman who has a husband and family who love her. I see her FAT. I see her FLAWS. I see, with regret, that she doesn’t wear a size 5 dress anymore—I don’t see the value she has now. After I started reading this book, I was convicted to ask for God’s forgiveness. Psalm 139:13-14, “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.” In Genesis, we learn how God created the heavens, the earth, and all living creatures. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness… So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

In this morning’s sermon, the speaker reminded us that God is a relational being. We are special to him because we are created in His own image. Who am I that I would say to God’s face, “I love you Lord, but I don’t like how you made me? I wish you would have made me taller, thinner, smarter…” You get the picture? The Lord God chose me to be his daughter. He knew me before I even came into being, sending His son to die on the cross to pay for my sins. And I am going to complain because I don’t wear a size 5 dress anymore? WOW! That really made me stop and think! I confessed my sin before the Lord, asked him to forgive me and you know what—the next time I saw a picture of myself…I didn’t cringe!

Satan is the father of lies. The thief who comes to steal and destroy. Anything and everything he does, is designed to rob us, God’s children, of the security and peace that we have in the Lord’s love. As the serpent said to Eve in the garden, “Did God really say?” NO Satan! God did not say! And there is no place in the bible that God tells me that I can only be loved as long as I fit into a size 5 dress and have “perfect” proportions.

I have confessed my sin. I have acknowledged that I am created by the Most High God, to fulfill His purpose, to bring glory to His name. As I was reminded in this morning’s message, “You are either an offspring of the serpent or an offspring of Eve. I am the daughter of the Lord and I choose to follow Christ. I will not sacrifice the peace that has been afforded to me by the Lord Almighty, in exchange for the lie of the serpent! I am fearfully and wonderfully made—AND so are YOU!