You’re too big. You’re too skinny. No one likes you. You’re not pretty. You’re not talented. God can’t use you. These are only a fraction of the countless lies thrown at us young women every day.
Comments made by the people around us, pressures from social media and celebrity culture and even labels that we’ve put on ourselves can constantly make us feel like we’re not good enough.
Growing up, the way I looked was often the brunt of people’s jokes. I was on the ‘top 10 ugliest girls’ list at school and was compared to people in the public eye who were seen as unattractive.
I remember a group of older boys saying that I looked like one of their mates and so every time they saw me, they would shout out this particular boy’s name and break out in hysterical laughter. This didn’t only happen at school, but also in the street; I felt like I couldn’t escape it.
After being fed with so many negative messages about myself, it became easy for me to take them on and hold them as truth. I believed that I was ugly and that no one liked me. I put on a cheerful front when I was at school, but the moment I got home, the mask would come off and my flaws became my primary focus once again.
This was the plan of the enemy; he wanted me to believe these lies about myself. The bible says that he comes to ‘steal and kill and destroy’ (John 10:10).
I want you to know that nothing that the enemy says is true. He’s the father of lies and deception is his favourite game. He even tried it with Jesus!
God hasn’t called you to a life where you have to carry the weight of the negativity that’s been said over you.
1 Peter 5:7 says that we should cast all our anxiety onto God because he cares for us.
We need to shake off those lies that’ve burdened us for so long and step into freedom. God has said some absolutely amazing truths about every single one of us and these are the things we need to hold close to our hearts.
You ARE fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), you ARE created for a mighty purpose (Ephesians 2:10), you ARE NOT a mistake (Psalm 139:13-16) and you ARE loved with an unconditional, unparalleled, fierce love (Romans 8:35-39).
