Accept Yourself — Flaws and All

Dec 27, 2014 Accept Yourself — Flaws and All by Rick Warren “My friend, I ask, ‘Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did?’” (Romans 9:20 CEV) Spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, experiences — these are the five things that make you, you. I call them your SHAPE. Accepting your SHAPE — the unique way that God made you that brings glory to him — means to believe that God knows best. It all comes down to the matter of trust. Do you believe that God made a mistake when he made you? Or do you trust him, knowing that he has a plan for your life? Do you believe it? When you say, “God, there are things I don’t like about myself. I wish I had different hair or a different color of skin. I wish I were taller, shorter, skinnier. I wish I had more talent. I wish I could do ‘that.’ I wish I looked like him. I wish I had her smarts” and on and on. This kind of thinking is basically telling God, “You blew it! Everybody else is OK. But you goofed up big when you made me.” When you reject yourself, you are in essence rejecting God, because he’s your creator. When you don’t accept yourself, it’s rebellion against God. You’re saying, “God, I know better than you. You should have made me different, with a different set of strengths and a different set of weaknesses.” But God says, “No, I made you exactly to be you because I want you to be you — with your strengths and your weaknesses. Both of them can give me glory — if you’ll just start doing what I made you to do instead of trying to be like everybody else.” It’s actually quite arrogant to reject yourself. The Bible says in Romans 9:20, “My friend, I ask, ‘Who do you think you are to question God? Does the clay have the right to ask the potter why he shaped it the way he did?’” (CEV) Whenever we doubt God’s love and wisdom, we always get into trouble. The root behind all of your problems is that you don’t trust God. You don’t believe God really loves you. You don’t believe that he really has your best interest at heart. You wish he had made you something different. As a result, there’s a spirit of bitterness in you that keeps you frustrated and keeps you from being all the man/woman God meant for you to be. Job 10:10 says, “You guided my conception and formed me in the womb” (NLT). God wanted you, and he loves you. Believe it, and then trust it! Talk It Over Do you believe that God really loves you? How does that change the way you view yourself? What is it about yourself that you've always wanted to change? How might God have intended to use that very trait to bring glory to him?

Magnify the Lord

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE:

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Psalm 34:3, KJV

TODAY'S WORD:

Something powerful happens inside when you magnify the Lord. What does it mean to magnify the Lord? When you magnify Him, you aren’t changing Him; you are changing the way you see Him. You are making Him bigger in your life than your problems and circumstances.

So many people today waste time and energy talking about their problems and feeling sorry for themselves. That’s because they are magnifying their circumstances in their own mind and heart. But when you start magnifying the Lord by talking about Him and worshiping Him, you are making Him the main priority in your life and opening the door for Him to move on your behalf.

Today, decide that no matter what’s going on in life around you, you are going to magnify your God. Talk about His goodness. Talk about His faithfulness. Declare that He is working behind the scenes on your behalf. Exalt His name today and lift Him up and see His hand of blessing in every area of your life!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Heavenly Father, today I choose to magnify and exalt You. You are faithful and good. Help me to keep my heart and mind focused on You all the days of my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

PS... ​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33aGaYAZvL4