One Woman Can Change the WorldSample

Day Two

Bold and Free Before God

Scripture: 1 John 3:18–22

Patriarchy, matriarchy, oppression, and prejudice are legitimate challenges facing women. But they are not the true enemy. They can threaten. They can taunt. But as I watch you and me, I see a greater enemy. 

The trouble with women is us. 

Yes, it’s us. It’s the way we respond to the challenges. It’s the way we treat ourselves. It’s the way we treat womanhood and all that’s associated with it. We mock our bodies, we deride getting older, we complain about parenting. We pit ourselves against other women in a battle for perfection. Instead of rising above the critique and believing ourselves to be truly made in the image and likeness of God and celebrating what makes us divinely unique, we get trapped in anger and finger-pointing. 

The voice that’s loudest in our heads is the voice of comparison, the voice of jealousy, the voice of self-deprecation and self-pity. It’s the voice that slices away at our very DNA. 

And when you and I don’t see ourselves rightly, self-condemnation can torment us. Everyone else . . . If only . . . You can’t because . . . become whispers that sound like screams. 

Yet Scripture reminds us of the dramatic connection between self-condemnation and our ability to love well:

My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. (1 John 3:18-22) The Message

God longs for us to let go of our habits of self-condemnation and live bold and free before Him. His is the voice worth listening to!

In what situations are you most likely to fall into unhealthy comparisons to others? When has self-condemnation kept you from following God’s call on your life?