** Disclaimer **
This most certainly is a blog about body image written by a relatively small woman. If that is an issue for you, proceed to ceremoniously roll your eyes and move on to your next blog post of the day.
This most certainly is a blog about body image written by a relatively small woman. If that is an issue for you, proceed to ceremoniously roll your eyes and move on to your next blog post of the day.
Proverbs 31:30 tells us, Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. But if you are a Christian woman living in todays society you know that comfort is not always found in that scripture as it should be. I am a relatively small girl. I top out at 5'1 and only weigh about 120ish. I am currently the heaviest I have ever been. Bewilderingly enough, that has been an issue for me... Now I know that there are women out there who struggle far greater with there body image than I do. Let me make myself clear, I am not down playing the burden of other women. I am also not saying I don't find myself beautiful. That is not the case. However I do find small flaws in my appearance that I allow to bother me. And THAT is precisely what I want to dive into. Why is it as women, we consistently find something wrong with ourselves? Even when we are surrounded by loved ones telling us the opposite. Even when the Lord himself tells us otherwise...
Psalm 139:14 says, I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. Fearfully in this context is not literal. It does not mean frightened or afraid. In biblical context fear can be replaced with reverence, awe, or great respect. This can be found in other biblical passages such as;
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 14:26 Whoever fears the Lord is strong in confidence...
Replace fear in those passages with respect or awe. Make sense? Now go back to Psalm 139:14. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...You are fearfully made. You are made in awe. You are made with reverence. You are made with respect. You were made with wander... God says we are works of His hands and marvelous are His works! Are those adjectives you would typically use to describe yourself? Your body? To say they aren't true is to deny God himself. We are created in God's image. Fearfully... Wonderfully...
My challenge to you, as well as to myself is to remember this passage in those moments where we find ourselves standing in the mirror analyzing every crease and shadow. Remember who you are as a woman in Christ.
Lord bind our hearts with your everlasting and unconditional love. Remind us of the beauty that we have through you. Let us not purchase the lies of worldly beauty but find our refuge in the knowledge that we were created in the image of the everlasting, the alpha and the omega. Remind us of our divine beauty as daughters of the King.
Amen.
Psalm 139:14 says, I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well. Fearfully in this context is not literal. It does not mean frightened or afraid. In biblical context fear can be replaced with reverence, awe, or great respect. This can be found in other biblical passages such as;
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 14:26 Whoever fears the Lord is strong in confidence...
Replace fear in those passages with respect or awe. Make sense? Now go back to Psalm 139:14. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made...You are fearfully made. You are made in awe. You are made with reverence. You are made with respect. You were made with wander... God says we are works of His hands and marvelous are His works! Are those adjectives you would typically use to describe yourself? Your body? To say they aren't true is to deny God himself. We are created in God's image. Fearfully... Wonderfully...
My challenge to you, as well as to myself is to remember this passage in those moments where we find ourselves standing in the mirror analyzing every crease and shadow. Remember who you are as a woman in Christ.
Lord bind our hearts with your everlasting and unconditional love. Remind us of the beauty that we have through you. Let us not purchase the lies of worldly beauty but find our refuge in the knowledge that we were created in the image of the everlasting, the alpha and the omega. Remind us of our divine beauty as daughters of the King.
Amen.