Shaped by Grace Part 2 - Lose the Lies & Gain God's Truthనమూనా

Just As You Are

Lose the lie: “I’m not approved.”

Due to comparison and perceived favoritism, I felt uninvited most of my childhood. Growing up in sibling rivalry, I competed for everything and wasted a lot of time trying. Feeling like a loser, I turned to food to comfort and soften life’s rejection blows. Lots and lots of food.

But at my core, it was never a food issue but a heart issue. My wounded heart sought validation from people, money, achievements, significance, status, and position, to name a few. The truth is every time I met someone new, I wanted to be their favorite.

My life was miserable on the inside but looked popular on the outside! And I wanted to be liked by everyone. When a miserable person copes with hidden issues, the coping mechanism itself becomes the best comfort! I found food doesn’t talk back, measure, or compare. And food loves company!

After many years of frustration and emptiness, I finally walked out of my misery-filled closet and opened my soul up to God’s grace. In God, I found a realization that initiated my turnaround. No human approval can match what our Creator has to offer!

The truth is, we all have those masks or hidden dysfunction we wrestle with. We all have our “stuff” we bring to every relationship table. I took a moral inventory and let the Lord examine my heart to see why I had such a deep need to be liked. I realized I needed reconciliation from my past.

"God can’t bless who you pretend to be!” -- Steven Furtick

Gain God’s Truth: God, my Divine Counselor says, When you bow to others to approve you, then you don’t have room in your heart to live FROM My approval. No matter how spiffed up or pretty you are in front of the mirror or your friends, the real you lies beneath what you can see. The answers and affirmations you seek are only found in one place—God! God knows the real you, and there’s no pretending with Him. Lies and deceit keep you from an intimate relationship with God. Be vulnerable before Him. He approves of you! To wish you were someone else is a put-down to God. God knows your struggles, and He loves you just as you are. But He doesn’t want to leave you there!

Thank you for reading this Bible plan. For more devotionals and encouragement of faith, please go here. To read more of Shaped By Grace Bible plan, go here.