Self-Esteem by Joan Cook
"I will give thanks to Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Thy works, And my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14
What do you think of yourself? Do you love yourself? The Bible tells us that we should love others as we love ourselves. If you do not love yourself, you can not begin to love others. Only when we have healthy self-esteem can we have healthy relationships.
You might be asking, "What is healthy self-esteem?" Self-esteem is liking yourself and accepting your lot in life, despite your circumstances. As a Christian, you are a child of God, and you are very special to Him. It is a dangerous thing to have low self-esteem. Why, you might ask! Let's take a look at the characteristics low self-esteem created in the following examples:
1. Going with the Flow Joe - Like the chameleon that changes colors according to it's surroundings, Joe is a person with low self-esteem and can easily become like this. He may act like the people he is around and feel pressured to do things that he would not normally do, all because he desires to be accepted.
2. Wishy-Washy Wanda - Wanda does not have the ability to make solid decisions because all her decisions are based on her self-worth. She is not confident in herself; therefore, she does not think she can make good decisions. She continually questions herself.
3. Rejected Regina - Regina has the dirty window syndrome. She looks at life from a dirty window; therefore, she taints everything that she sees and makes it look filthy. She thinks that no one likes her or wants to be around her. She feels that people do not treat her good enough and that she's not pretty or smart enough! She soon acts on what she believes and it becomes true. Since she is always criticizing herself, other people tend to come down on her too. She will soon become a jealous person who is easily threatened by anyone, friends included.
4. Emotionally Crippled Cal - Some of the most self-centered people in the world are people who have low self-esteem. Cal is like this. He is always down on himself. He often wonders what everyone else thinks of him. He is generally incapable of giving or receiving love. because he is always focused on himself,
5. Pushover Peggy - Peggy is a moral pushover. A guy tells her that he loves her, and because she does not have many boyfriends and she feels like "somebody" when she's with him, she falls for his little bag of tricks. He asks her to do something that she knows is wrong, but she can't say no because after all, he did tell her he loved her. After all is said and done, Peggy is left all alone!
God created us to have a future and a hope! He created us to be like Him! Do not allow the devil to have you think you are not good enough, smart enough, strong enough, wealthy enough, clean enough, big enough, or spiritual enough! Let us give Him thanks, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Daily Prayer Focus: Praise God that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Praise God that your identity comes from Him.
On The Go Prayer Focus: On The Go's USA Outreach Effort. God has placed a United States effort on the heart and mind of the On The Go Team. Three key objectives are sharing, praying, and training in every county in the USA using On The Go Advance Teams, Training Teams, Planning Teams, Prayer Teams, GoTeams, and Outreach Efforts.
Thank you for taking the time to pray for this important division of On The Go Ministries. For more information on any our ministries here at On The Go, you may send your questions to info@onthego.org.
On The Go Daily Devotion for January 16, 2013
Brought to you each day by On The Go / Keith Cook Team
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