“In God’s eyes you are a beloved child of His, worthy of all acceptance and unconditional love.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 21, 2021
by Guest Writer: Sharon Jaynes
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:22-24
I was in the sixth grade when I first ventured into the House of Mirrors at my hometown county fair—a mere 12 years old. My friends and I ran from booth to booth, suckered into paying good money to play rigged games. For hours we gave cash to shady carnival characters in hopes of winning a stuffed purple polka-dotted snake, an oversized tie-dyed teddy bear, or a cheesy piece of jewelry we’d never wear. Personally, I stuck with Pickup Ducks—a sure win.
But of all the sideshows at the carnival, it was the House of Mirrors that captured my attention. We walked through maze-like halls, giggling at the distorted images of ourselves. Short and stubby. Tall and lanky. I looked at the various versions of me and tried to decide which one I liked best. See, deep inside, in a place no one knew existed, I was in search of another version of me. I did not like the one I knew best. Now that I’m older, I realize women and men all around the world have grown up with a distorted view of who they really are. They look into the mirror and see words that don’t match up with the truth about who God created them to be.
They look into the mirror of value and see the word worthless. The mirror of success and see the word failure. The mirror of competence and see the word inadequate. The mirror of acceptance and see the word rejected. The mirror of comparison and see the word inferior. The mirror of performance and see the words not good enough. The mirror of sufficiency and see the words not enough…period. Many Christians live in a house of mirrors, believing distorted interpretations of who they are—and the devil polishes that mirror of deception every day to keep it shiny.
I know the House of Mirrors well. I grew up there. Lived there for years. For decades, feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy held me captive to a “less than” life. I was misshaped by the words of others interpreted by a needy little girl who just wanted to be accepted and loved. You might expect me to say, “But then I met Jesus and all my insecurities miraculously disappeared.” Oh, I wish that were the case, but that little insecure, lost girl grew up to become an insecure Christian woman.
It wasn’t until I was in my mid-thirties that I began to come out of that house of mirrors and look into the only mirror that really matters: God’s truth. When I was in my thirties, an older woman in my church told me it was time to renew my mind with the truth of who I was, what I had, and where I was (my position) as a child of God. She encouraged me to make a list of my true identity. I had read those verses scattered throughout Scripture before, but when she encouraged me to cluster them all together, God began a new work in my mind and my heart.
You are a saint. You are chosen. You are dearly loved. You are holy. These truths were right there on the pages of my Bible in black and white, and a few in red. You are reconciled through Christ’s life. You are justified by Christ’s blood. You are free from condemnation through Christ’s death. You have the mind of Christ. You can do all things through Christ. I knew the verses were the infallible Word of God, but I felt rather squeamish hearing them, reading them, believing them. But I had a choice to make. Was I going to believe God told the truth?
I decided that even though the verses about my true identity as a child of God felt uncomfortable, I was going to believe God. And that’s what I’m challenging you to do today. Let’s do it together! Let’s decide to look into the mirror of God’s truth—to silence the inner critic that holds us hostage and silence the lies that steal our confidence. Let’s renew our minds with God’s truth and look into the only mirror that matters.
The Bible says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Romans 12:2).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, sometimes I tend to believe the lies from my past rather than the truth of Scripture. Help me to renew my mind with Your truth and see myself as You see me, no matter how beautiful it may be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Application
What is one biblical truth that you can use to combat the lies that feed your greatest insecurity?
Related Reading
Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 8:32; Romans 8:1-2; Ephesians 1:1-11
Worship Resource
Bryan and Katie Torwalt: Miracle In The Works
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