Accepting ourselves doesn’t mean we love everything about what we do and say, or even that we embrace our mistakes and flaws. It simply means that if we do make a mistake (and everyone does), that we process it appropriately and don’t keep on “beating” ourselves up about it so that we consequently start thinking and believing that we are less than who God says we are.
A trap people can also fall into is to develop a defensive attitude of, “this is how I am and I’m not going to change, so people can either like it or lump it”. Whereas God actually encourages us to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds” and that we, “go from glory to glory as we behold Him. (2 Corinthians 3:18)
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT)
Self acceptance doesn’t mean we never seek to improve or change anything about who we are. Instead acceptance means we realise that we are loved and that God sees and values us just the way we are, but He also loves us too much to simply leave us the way we are. This knowledge that we are valuable and loved then helps us to be able to choose to make quality decisions to develop personally and keep growing. It will mean having to be honest about what’s really in our hearts, taking the time to find out what God says about our lives and then choosing to make decisions based on what He says rather than being driven to do things because of our feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.
Today be honest about what is in your heart and talk to God about it. Challenge every negative thought and choose to shut down the fearful self depreciating dialogue in your head, and ignore those who seek to belittle or constantly remind you of your past. Instead make some quality decisions based on what God has placed in your heart and who and what He says you are so that you can keep moving forward.
Prayer: Lord please help me to recognise what is in my heart, and that instead of listening to all the negatives that I will believe what you say about my life so that I will be encouraged to make quality decisions to keep growing and developing into all that you have made me to be. In Jesus name Amen
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