Have you ever been lied to? I have. But perhaps not in the way you might think.
Those lies can “color” how we view and interact with the world going forward.
Being a VERY petite woman, I have battled with insecurity for a good portion of my life. The enemy used what made me feel different, made me feel insecure, to feed me a bunch of lies.
During lunch with a friend who is tall and beautiful, I admitted that I appreciated being out with her, and assured her that the good table we were led to was thanks to her. Puzzled, she looked at me, nonverbally asking, “Why?” I explained that my entire life, I almost always was given the worst table in the restaurant…you know the kind: near the restroom or closest to the kitchen or table bussing station. Research has suggested that shorter people tend to be discriminated against compared to their taller counterparts, just as overweight individuals tend to be discriminated against compared to their thinner counterparts.
At some point in my life, the enemy began feeding me lies about my insecurities. Only I didn’t know they were lies at the time and I began to believe them.
The lies I believed because of my insecurities:
- You aren’t valued as much as others.
- People don’t take you seriously because of your height.
- You won’t be respected because of your petite stature.
How thankful I was when I began to understand the truth about my worth, value and identity:
- I am a daughter of the Most High God.
- I am accepted in the beloved.
- I am more than a conqueror.
- I am the apple of God’s eye and God delights in me.
I chuckled as I read of someone else who probably fell prey to the same lies I had, but who had an encounter that changed his life and taught him truth.
An encounter with Jesus can change everything.
In Luke 19:1-10 we are told the story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus. Zacchaeus was reportedly a man of very small stature. When Jesus travelled through his town, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but because of his short stature was unable to see Him. So as the story goes, Zacchaeus ran up ahead of Jesus and climbed up in a tree to allow him to see over the crowd.
As Jesus passed by, he spotted the short-statured tax collector perched in the tree. Jesus called to Zacchaeus and told him to come down from the tree because Jesus wanted to go to his house and spend time with him. Jesus recognized Zacchaeus’s heart to seek Him out, and his efforts to see him. Jesus honored that, and despite what others may have said as they initially trampled on the short-statured man, Jesus found him worthy of his love, time and attention.
It is easy to put myself in Zacchaeus’s shoes.
I wonder if he felt devalued by those who trampled all around him.
I wonder if others tried to take advantage of him.
I wonder if he became frustrated by his futile attempts to see Jesus through the crowd before he took desperate measures to get prime seating.
Out of the entire crowd who gathered to see Jesus, Zacchaeus was the man Jesus chose to seek out and get to know. I wonder if Jesus’ attention toward him helped him see the potential lies he had been believing about himself and his worth and value?
What lies have you been believing about yourself that don’t line up with God’s truth?
Rx for When You Feel Insecure
You know, I have gotten the idea that it doesn’t matter what we have (or what other people see us having) as advantages or blessings, the enemy is always there to point out some “flaw” or “disadvantage” — which may not even be a flaw or disadvantage at all! I know he has done that to me.
But like you point out, we don’t have to believe it, do we! Praise the Lord! Another good reason to saturate our minds with His Word. We are “accepted in the beloved,” and His “strength is made perfect in weakness,” anyway. 😉
You are right on target Sheila! it doesn’t matter what we have, the enemy is there to steal, kill, and destroy, and he is quick to accuse us to ourselves, to others, and to God. But we have to remember what God says, after all, we Are His!
Good meaningful post. All of us struggle with some type of insecurities. Thank you for reminding us about the enemy’s lies, and, more importantly, who we belong to.
Thank you Mary. If we will remember not only who we are, and whose we are, the rest really doesn’t matter. We just need God’s voice to be louder and stronger than the enemy’s!
Satan is the father of lies, He will make us try to believe them too. Bad thing about lies as well, you have to remember what you said so you can keep up with that lie, which often leads to more and more lies. Thanks for sharing this blog post. Keep on Blogging for God. (CBCE)
Thanks for stopping by Steve and for taking the time to comment! We have to listen to the Father’s voice and not the father of lies!
Yes we do and you are so welcome.
That was quite brave to share your insecurity. I think we all have them, even if we’re perceived as someone who doesn’t have a reason to (tall, blonde, thin, pretty, long hair, short hair, outgoing, quiet, whatever someone else’s version of “perfect” looks like). Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Melanie, until we are made perfect in our Heavenly bodies, we will likely have to beat back the lies which breed insecurity. Thanks for coming by!! I enjoy your blog!
This is such a great look at a story I’ve read time and time again. I love looking at scripture through new eyes. I’ve definitely believed some lies about myself – your encouragements were quite appreciated tonight.
Tracie, I’m so glad my own journey could encourage you. Believe me, the enemy didn’t want me to share it…and he kept lying to me all the way until after I hit the “publish” button! But I know whose I am, and He has called it good. And He has called you good! Believe it today!
Thank you for the reminders of who we are in Christ. It is so easy to slip into listening to every voice but God’s – especially during difficult seasons. God has been doing a work in my heart recently in regards to this area. Blessed by your words this morning.
I would love for you to link up and share this over on the simplifiedlife.net link party today – I think others would find it encouraging too!
I’m so glad it blessed you!! Disappointed to have missed the link-up. Let me know the next time it comes around – I’d love to share! Blessings!!
Thanks for being so vulnerable, Dr. Michelle. I believe everyone probably has some sort of insecurity even if they don’t realize it. REminding ourselves of the truth of who we are in Jesus is so good.
I agree Amy – in my practice I see that we all struggle with insecurity in different ways. But God sees us in His image!
Michelle,
I am tall with medium bone structure, and growing up all my best friends were tiny. I always felt like a lanky giant…and longed to be petite. Yes, He has taught me to rebuke the lies of the evil one…and know that God created me just right for “me”. It’s funny how my closest friends are still much smaller than I am..and I still feel a little insecure in pictures….but continuing to learn my security is found in Christ alone!
It just goes to show that the enemy lies to all of us, and our security can only rest in Him! And I’d love to take photos with you any time!! 😉
Living with fibromyalgia and chronic pain frequently leaves me feeling lonely or sad or depressed without warning. Insecurities make it worse, but I am working on it daily.
Thank you for linking up to Inspire Me Mondays!
Brandi, I’m so sorry that you have such difficult medical conditions, especially those that affect your mood. We all have to work on our thoughts and our insecurities daily – that’s part of taking every thought captive. Give yourself credit that you ARE trying to do so!
Sometimes it takes so little to convince us of a lie about our self. I used to believe I needed to meet other people’s needs before I met my own. Mainly because of how I was raised. Then someone pointed out to me the lie it was.