To The Woman Struggling With Low Self-Esteem Part 1

You’re not second-rate. 

You’re not the only choice left on the table that someone has to settle for half-heartedly. 

You’re not the last one standing to be chosen for middle-school dodgeball. 

You’re not less pretty, less intelligent, or less desirable than everyone else. 

You’re not the little kid (anymore) standing at the window, wondering why your parent isn’t coming back for you. 

You’re not something formed from the scraps of the recycling bin in Heaven. 

God didn’t piece you together with leftovers. 

You were knitted together in your mother’s womb and fearfully and wonderfully made. God sent His son, Jesus, to die for you because He loved you so much. 

I feel compelled today to share my own story of low self-esteem because I know I’m not alone in the struggle, and I want to offer you some encouragement. 

I’m crossing into my 30s next month and have just started to learn what it means to love myself, and leave the shadow of hating myself that I’ve lived under.

I’ve spent my life, thus far, blaming myself for all the trauma that unfairly happened to me both as a child and an adult. I pushed all the negative voices, abandonment wounds, and painful experiences deep into my soul and took that to mean there was a problem with me. There must be something wrong with me, since it happened to me. I had wrongly believed this wholeheartedly every day of my life until about six months ago. Perhaps you, too, have believed the same lie?

I want you to hear me loud and clear.

What happened to you was not your fault. The people who said they loved you and then walked out didn’t leave because you weren’t good enough. All the cruel words people have spewed at you were not the truth. The critical voices and people in your life were misguided and, in some cases, downright at odds with themselves, and so they decided to take it out on you. 

But you don’t have to live in bondage anymore, friend. You can live a full, healthy, and holy life with the Lord who binds your wounds. You can be confident in who He made you to be and the plans He has for you. 

And guess what? It is all part of God’s plan, the good and the bad, even when we don’t understand. Like Joseph in the pit, God will use our deepest pain for our good and His glory. 

If you’re His child, you’re chosen by Him. If you don’t know Him, I pray you will accept Him as your Savior. He is a good, good Father. Now, before you go and choose to live in the true freedom found in Christ alone, I want to share a few tips that have helped me learn to love the woman in the mirror.

A Practical Tip:

The best (and arguably only) way to start to build a healthy self-esteem is to sit down and ask God to help you. Pray daily for wisdom on this matter. Here is a prayer I have prayed many times myself to give you an idea:

Heavenly Father, I come to you today to ask you to remind me who I am in you. Remind me that I am your child, made in your image, and that you love me more than I could ever fathom. Help me to love myself in a way that honors you, and help me to see myself the way you see me. Please help me forgive myself for things I have done and things I have wrongfully blamed myself for. Help me speak kindly to myself, seek you in everything I do, and use the talents you have given me. May all I do be done to the glory of you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

If you're a woman struggling with low self-esteem, please follow along with this series! I think it will be an encouragement to you!