Ladies, this is something the Holy Spirit has impressed on my heart heavily tonight for you. I think that no matter where you are with this issue, God wants you to hear it. As a spur or hopefully as just a reminder:
Please do not believe the lies. Please do not trust your eyes. They are broken, under the control of our enemy too often.
You look in the mirror, only to see a gaping void reflected. “If I were just _____. If only my _____ were different. If only I was _____ pounds lighter.”
It’s a lie. Not true. You would not be satisfied if any, or all for that matter, of those things were true. It will never be enough. Your eyes will lie more. And more. Until everyone else knows you are way too skinny but your head is still stuck in a toilet. Do not trust your eyes. I don’t care how you feel. How you feel is not the truth. Let truth reign.
I’m sorry for the sins of the male gender that have contributed to your struggles. I really am. I apogize on behalf of all males for the unrivaled stupidity exhibited all too often. I am sorry for guys who would reduce you to a number or rating. That pisses me off so much. You are not a number! Please hear that. You are a precious daughter of God and no number could suffice to describe that reality.
I’m so sorry for our culture. For the commercials and ads you see every day. For the magazine covers that tell you you aren’t good enough or desirable. For the profoundly inane expectations of our society that you feel measured by, that are mainly plastic and fake. I’m sorry for husbands who trade in their wives for newer, shiner versions with surgically altered parts, and the fear that that reality whispers into your ear. It makes me sick to my stomach that any girl has to grow up in this culture.
But unfortunately, you do. So I beg you–do not listen to your eyes. Give them to Jesus. Some of you have given Him your heart, but you have a white-knuckled grip around your eyes. I want you to be able to stand there in front of that mirror and surrender your eyes to Jesus. Stop asking those questions and saying the “if only”s. It’s a set up. No answer you could ever get will satisfy those longings. No “you’re beautiful” will do it. No realization of an “if only”. No boy’s affirmation. Nothing. Why do you think the girls who you think have it all have the same struggles that you do? Why do the models purge? Why do they need another camera flash? Because again–it is all a lie. It’s insatiable. You’ll never fill that void.
But it can be filled. If you die to it. If you expose it for the lie that it is, walk away and just stop it. If you surrender your eyes to Jesus. Stop asking the questions. Stop the “if only”s. If you stand there and look in the mirror and let your Father love you. Let His love pour over and around you–His love that doesn’t give a crap about your skin tone or your pants size. His love that says you are fearfully and wonderfully made to reflect His image. His love that calls you daughter, calls you treasured, calls you His own.
I beg you, for your good. Surrender your eyes. Stop the incessant struggle that wreaks havoc on your soul day in and day out. Your Father delights in you. He delights in you. Let Him quiet your fears with His love, and rejoice over you with singing.
And I hope you realize in that moment, fully and totally, that the unconditional, boundless affirmation from your Father is what you were actually searching for all along. The truth underneath the lie. And that frees you to be who you are, to be comfortable in your own skin. The Gospel fills every void that our brokenness creates and gives us the freedom to forget about ourselves.
Sisters, give Him your eyes. Rebuke the entirely too familiar lies.
And listen to Him sing.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3.17
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