Loving Ourselves

I have never been a highly confident person nor have I ever had an extremely low self- confidence. As I continue to grow in my relationship with Jesus, I know who I am and I know Whose I am. I believe loving myself means that I accept forgiveness and I respect who God created me to be including all of the beautiful parts and the ugly parts. But there are times I teeter between what I know and what I feel. Recently I heard a sermon by a friend, Sheena, who talked about loving ourselves. It was a powerful message and I believe many people need to hear this message, including young people. We need to know our self-worth but also our children and grandchildren’s self-worth must come from their knowledge of Who Jesus is and the assurance of His love. They are watching us and know if we love ourselves. Ouch!

People who struggle to love themselves, struggle to love their neighbors. When we love ourselves, society acts like we are prideful. Learning to love ourselves can be hard. Sometimes it is easier to believe the lies of the enemy. One's value doesn’t come from what we do, where we come from or this world. Our value comes from being made in His image. Recite 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.” Reading God’s Word will help us love ourselves and others.

“Conviction moves you forward because it comes from God. Condemnation comes from the devil and leaves you stagnant.” Love yourself so you can love others. Let’s speak positive words over our life and over our children’s lives. Take a step of faith and say, "I love myself with the love of God.” This will change our attitude and we will become more positive and confident. We will begin to see God’s love flowing to and through us to other’s. God continues to say I love you. You are mine. I am proud of you. Receive it and believe it!