How Do You Feel about Yourself, Really?

How do you see yourself? What you believe about yourself determines how you live your life. It's so easy to see how other people see themselves, but it's so much harder to analyze yourself. Take a moment to think about it. Do you view yourself through past mistakes, or see all you have the potential to accomplish? What are your giftings? What has He called you to do? Do you see yourself as a leader? You have authority here on earth and He has given you access to His power. As Christians, we should have the greatest self-esteem and sense of self-worth of anybody. I, for one, am so tired of trying to please the world. We don't have to worry about what they think! What a refreshing concept! Our Father is the King of Kings! We are royalty. He loves us more than any of His other creations. If we truly believed all these things, our effect on the world around us would be INCREDIBLE. He has made us, each with our unique giftings and talents, to change this world. We are in a war. This is a constant battle and we will be victorious! Start seeing yourself as a victorious warrior! Because you are. He has chosen YOU to make a difference. He created you PERFECTLY. No part of you is a mistake, or ugly, or anything the devil tells you. He tries to attack your sense of who you are in Him, to render you ineffective in your calling. Don't allow Him to! Spend time finding out what God thinks of you, and see yourself as HE does. Then start living your life like you know who you are. Your life is a testimony to His goodness. People will see the confidence and the passion you have, and they'll want it. You have what other people are searching for. So many try to fill that void with unhealthy relationships or try to dull the pain with other things. They're searching. God created us to be in a deep, intimate relationship with Him. When you know who you are, God can use you to reach out to those people, and He'll give you a dream and a passion for what He's calling you to do.

Submitted by Ana Nicole – age 15

Searching

So many, teens especially, are searching. They're trying to discover who they are, their dreams and passions, and why they're here. Everyone needs a sense of purpose. They need to feel significant and valued. When you don't have God in your life, people tend to find their purpose and worth in other things. Often, they try to find it in relationships. This is truly dangerous. The more someone tries to seek approval or bases their identity on someone else, the more strained a relationship can become and it leads to heartbreak, leaving the person emptier than before. Mothering, cliques, popularity, drugs, alcohol.... all of these things are often used to try to replace God.Mothering, for instance, is awesome. God has called parents to raise up their kids to be powerful and confident men and women of God, but we can't find our worth in that alone. I believe with all my heart that raising up a Christ-following generation is infinitely important. And as parents, you play a huge role in that. But if being the perfect mom becomes more important than that, or that's where you find your identity, not in you Heavenly Father, but in being a mom, that's not where He wants you to be.Cliques are a huge thing for both teens and pre-teens unfortunately. When you're in this environment, it's not a healthy place to be. You lose who you really are because you're constantly trying to please other people. It becomes all about staying in the clique, because you feel like you're worthless outside of it. God wants us to have healthy, growing relationships based on Him. But when we begin to value our relationships with people above oure relationship with God, we can't expect to be truly whole or fulfilled.Popularity is very much the same. You sacrifice your values and who you really are to stay on top. Many people think this is the ideal place to be, but when you find yourself humbled in the presence of God, nothing else compares.Drugs and alcohol. These are not so much used to replace God, but rather to drown out the pain of not having Him.None of these things can ever compare to the wholeness and fulfillment you will find in Him. My entire identity lies in Him. I have confidence because I know who I am in Him, and I live by it. This is the best place to be - growing and maturing in Christ.

Submitted by Ana Nicole – age 15

Longing

The reason that people long to be in close and intimate relationships is because we want others to share in the depths of our souls. We want another person to take part or even ownership in our desires, our dreams, our joys, and most of all....our loves.This is not an earthly or natural longing. To long for someone to truly understand who we really are is a reflection of the Father's heart. He is the deepest being to ever exist. The reason that we were even created was to fulfill a deep desire in Him. Unfortunately, we are hindered by earthly mindsets and boundaries, so we will not fully understand the depth of passion in Him until we are face to face at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Knowing that the heart of our Lord is immeasurable, and as spirit beings we are made in His image and created in His likeness, I can only come to one conclusion and it is this: I will never fully be understood, unless by the being who created this heart that dreams.

Submitted by Risa E. age 21