As many of you know, I am part of a mom's group and we meet weekly to have a bible study...and also to talk about our kiddos and keep from going crazy when things get hectic! ;) This is a lesson I taught on awhile ago and I have been meaning to share. It had been on my heart for awhile because I believe this is something that every woman struggles with at some point. Pastor Craig at Life.Church had taught several sermons on similar things, so this is kind of a combination of many of his sermons with a few added things.
When this first was brought to my attention, it was during our 30 Second Theology series and this is the commercial that spoke to me that made me realize I need a change in thinking.
*AFTER WATCHING THAT COMMERCIAL, ON A SCALE OF 1-10 HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE? (Which door would you have initially walked through and did your mind change by the end?)
It seems that talking about physical beauty isn't very spiritual because God looks at the heart, but I really think how we view our outward appearance is a reflection of what's on the inside and will eventually manifest on the outside.
Garden Analogy: Your heart and mind are like a garden. You plan to fill your garden with flowers/vegetables (truth and how God sees you) but, it's inevitable that weeds will come eventually. Weeds don't provide any value, just like our degrading thoughts about our image. Think about weeds as those constant reoccurring thoughts.
*WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR REOCCURRING THOUGHTS? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR FLAWS ARE/WHAT INSECURITIES COME TO MIND?
*WHERE DO YOU THINK YOUR INSECURITIES COME FROM?
*WHERE/WHO SHOULD WE FIND OUR SECURITY IN?
I would encourage everyone right now to find bible verses or biblical truths that combat that thinking that you can remind yourself of daily until these thoughts are gone.
*WHAT PROBLEMS COULD THIS TYPE OF THINKING LEAD TO?
When I started thinking about this question is when I really realized how this was affecting me. Here are just a few areas that I believe this type of thinking causes: overspending on clothes, intimacy with spouse, relationship with God-angry you look this way, relationships with others-always feeling the need to compare.
*WHAT QUALITIES MAKE SOMEONE STAND OUT TO YOU? WHAT MAKES SOMEONE "BEAUTIFUL" TO YOU?
*WHY IS IT HARDER TO LOOK AT OURSELVES THAT WAY AND HOW CAN WE CHANGE OUR THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES? IS IT SOMETHING WE NEED TO DO PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY?
As you start to think about these questions, here are some encouraging verses:
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””
1 Samuel 16:7
“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
1 Peter 3:3-4
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.”
Psalms 139:13-14
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Ephesians 2:10
*DOES YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOURSELF CAUSE YOU TO DO MORE OF WHAT YOU WERE MADE TO DO, OR LESS?
When I believe in myself and have confidence, I feel like I do everything a little better and take more ownership.
Four thoughts:
GOD LOVES YOU DEEPLY (“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8)
GOD VALUES YOU HIGHLY (“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.” 1 John 3:1-2)
GOD PROVIDES FOR YOU FULLY (“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19)
GOD PLANNED YOU CAREFULLY (“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:4-5)
No comments:
Post a Comment