The King's Treasure

(image from http://www.crosswalk.com)

Ladies, my heart is burdened for you. All of you. For the girl who is living out loud for Christ, and feels alone at times. She feels like no one cares, except God. For the girl searching ruthlessly, to fill that deep longing in her heart- my heart breaks for you. And for the girl who has basically rejected Christ and HIS standards (and in that, rejected His love and mercy), my heart breaks because you don’t know the fullness of joy in Christ. You are racing
down a path that is full of all kinds of destruction, and I just want to scream STOP! By your lifestyle, you are asking for an STD. You
are asking for a drug overdose. You are asking for a broken heart.
You ARE asking for destruction. Satan has come to rob, kill, and
destroy you. And if you let him, he by ALL means necessary, do just that.

I have nothing radical to say, but I have heaviness on my heart for you, and ladies like you. We have all meandered different paths and have different experiences. However, there are ties that bind us as women. The longings to be loved, accepted, and just not be confused about who we are! What a relief it would be if we could just figure ourselves out, right?!

Been there, ladies!! Most girls, if not all, go through a pretty funky phase as they are growing up. I know I did. Such an odd-ball I was (and not sure if that has changed ). It took a while for me to grow into my face. I wasn’t happy with my appearance. I didn’t like my nose, wasn’t crazy about the fact I had freckles, could NOT tan, and I didn’t like the way my legs were shaped. That, coupled with the fact that I had some stunningly beautiful friends- HELLO discontentment!!! And on top of that, I had no confidence, and unbearably shy. For once, I wanted to be the “one that lit up a room”, and was the “life of the party”!

While it DOES feel horrible to lack any self-confidence, let me be very clear about something. The underlying issue here is, whether we have the confidence of a Queen, or the complete lack of it, we are still being “me” focused. You may either have the mentality of, “Look at me! Look at me!” or the other extreme- “ I wish someone would look at ME”! Both are wrong. Both are forms of pride. So what is the right perspective?

There are countless books that will tell you how to help yourself. Even the professing church has a version, that’s quite unbiblical. “Be who you are”, they tell us. But, they are leaving off a key ingredient...”in Christ”. I can attest to the fact that without Christ I would be a big, fat mess. I spent a while feeling like a fish out of water. Looking back, how could I be content with myself, when I wasn’t following the path of my Creator? He made me a certain way, for His purpose and glory. So if I wasn’t following Him, on His terms, how in the world could I be content? He created me to have a relationship with Him, but without Him, I would always be incomplete...and would not be able to find contentment anywhere else.

When I was 14 I fully committed my life to Christ. Fully. And I struggled a lot. Believe me. Just because I was living for the Lord did not mean I my days of struggling with who I was, was over. It took around 5 years! I believe as long as you live on the earth, you will deal with fearing man, and wanting to please people. You may want to please people in “good” ways, such as volunteering for absolutely everything, just so people will lift you up and like you. Or because you can’t say no, because that will hurt their feelings. Or maybe you swing to the other extreme, wanting to please people in sinful, unbiblical ways.

It wasn’t until I was about eighteen or nineteen years old that I FINALLY became ok with who I was in Christ. With that, came peace. What sweet peace! Our generation, girls, has such a super-star mentality, even in church. We feel that if we don’t do something that looks all great and big to everyone else, then you need to keep trying to do those big things (even if that is not what He has equipped you for). I didn’t have to be great. I don’t have to sing. I don’t have to be a gifted communicator, because that is not what he specifically designed for me. If he has gifted you in those areas, then great. And on occasion, He may “stretch” you a little by placing opportunities for you to do those things. But for me, it is freeing to know that I didn’t have to be “GREAT” in the eyes of others. I wasn’t designed for stardom. I hope that makes sense. When we know who we are IN Christ, this in not an occasion to say “Look at me”. No. It’s to say “look at Him!”. We should not exude Self- confidence, but reliance upon Him! It’s His approval we should be longing for. Galatians 1:10 says it this way “ Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

If you try to “find yourself” on your own terms, you will probably fall into a trap of eating disorders, sexual promiscuity, hopping from one guy to another, parties and things like that. Satan knows when we are weak. That’s when he is on the prowl for weak prey. When you feel weak and tempted, pour your heart out to the Lord and dig in the Word of God! When you don’t feel so tempted, read and dig into His Word. Hide God’s Word in your heart, so you will be armed and ready at any moment. You need it everyday.

Ladies, I am in prayer for you. Seek the Lord. Give your insecurities to Him. He already knows about them anyway. As you lay these things at the foot of the cross, remember this, “The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord.”- Psalm 45:11.

















(image from http://www.musiclyric4christian.com/the-bible.html)