When You Look in a Mirror is Doubt the Loudest Voice You Hear
Hope is a word I once misunderstood. It’s not a wish, a desire, a gamble, or a dream. Hope is the “confident expectation” that something is true. No doubts or wishful thinking, but pure joy. Those who trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ embrace an amazing, courageous faith.
Your hopes, dreams, and aspirations are not the same as mine, but that doesn’t make yours any less important. In our still moments, we focus on what we believe will make the perfect world. Our expectations focus on what ensures something good will happen. The sensation is thrilling, and it’s our human nature to grasp onto the positive and not the negative.
But hope can’t rest on what the mirror, the world, or our own doubts say about us. It rests on what God has already said. That matters, because the mirror rarely says anything kind.
The Stones They Throw
Our hope is often tied to our sense of worth. We look in the mirror, and it seems to say:
• Hey, old girl, it’s time to settle back in a rocking chair.
• You have more wrinkles than smooth spots.
• What if someone learns about your past mistakes?
• You haven’t got what it takes to be successful in anything.
• Your season will never arrive.
We turn to the world, and they are hurling more stones. The world, like our mirror shouts condemnation and criticism.
• Hey, loser, how much is in your bank account?
• Hey, loser, do you really think you have purpose?
• Hey, loser, what is your social status, career, nationality, religion, education, political party?
• Hey, loser, why would the world be interested in anything you’ve written?
Satan comes after us. He not only throws stones, but he pelts us with accusations. You’ll never measure up to God. You’re a miserable failure in every area of your life. You’re a fool to believe God loves you.
But We Have a Rock
What the naysayers don’t know is we have a rock. And He is Jesus.
“The Lord is my rock and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 ESV
I want you to grasp hope in Jesus and never let go. But that hope must begin inside us, and it happens when God calls us to faith. Without that anchor, the stones have a way of sticking.
“It is my eager expectations and hope (confident expectation) that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or death.” Philippians 1:20 ESV
The Stones that Stick
Our identity develops in a healthy or unhealthy way as others throw stones at our value. If we’re not careful, those stones become our identity.
• Spiritually—What’s the use in praying. God doesn’t care.
• Mentally —My weaknesses are all I can think about.
• Emotionally— Depression hits me like a dark shadow chasing me. I either want to sleep all the time or can’t sleep at all. Should I seek counseling or prescribed medication?
• Physically—Stress takes its toll. Headaches. Heart attack. Colds. Flu. High blood pressure.
We are miserable until we understand God truly defines us. He sees us as a sculpture, a work of art. How do we trust Him to make positive changes in every season of our lives?
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10 ( ESV).
Friends, when we choose God, the world, Satan, and our own misgivings can’t touch our true self. Those accusations only feed us lies if we choose to listen.
We are made in God’s image. That means we are all beautiful. A masterpiece. How can we embrace our beauty?
• Believe God’s definition of beauty. “You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.” Song of Solomon 4:7 ESV
• True beauty comes from within and emits radiance to all those who not only see, but hear, and feel us.
More Than a Tube of Lipstick
We are made in God’s image. That means we are all beautiful. A masterpiece. So why is that so hard to believe?
It starts with trusting God’s definition of beauty over the world’s. True beauty comes from within and radiates to everyone who not only sees us, but hears and feels us. And because we are all fashioned in the image of God, anyone who criticizes or condemns us is saying God created someone without value. That is a lie.
Mother Teresa was one of the most beautiful women in the world. What defined her beauty was her sacrificial giving to the people of India. She risked her health and her life to care and love for a people group that many others chose to ignore. We are all more than we’ve ever been told by the world.
I have no doubt that Mother Teresa based her hope, worth, and beauty not on the world’s standards, Satan’s accusations, or her own misgivings, but on God’s definition of true inner beauty.
“She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet” Proverbs 31:20-21 (ESV).
Friends, embrace your beauty. You are more than a tube of lipstick. Beauty begins in the heart. You are a daughter of the King. That is exceptional beauty.
You are beautiful. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, just as Psalm 139:14 says.
When the Praise Gets Loud
Do people say nice things about you? Do you embrace positive affirmation? Those statements may not be true. Life isn’t about us. It’s about God and His kingdom. It’s not about our happiness—because happiness comes from the outside in, not like joy, which comes from the inside out. If people, the mirror, and the world are singing your praises, chances are you’re not following Jesus.
Every woman has the potential to make this world a better place, and that potential lies in the act of thinking higher thoughts and practicing deeper truths. We have the capacity to create positive change.
“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns” Psalm 46:5 (ESV).
What Will You Have the Courage to Do?
Living that out, though, takes something most of us are short on: courage.
I love getting to know how God feels about me. It’s all a part of His perfect plan and fills me with hope in every season. But I’ve discovered finding out who I am in God’s eyes takes courage.
“You aren’t an accident. You weren’t mass-produced. You aren’t an assembly-line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.” —Max Lucado
When I’m teaching fiction writing, I pose the question: What will your character have the courage to do at the end of the story that he/she doesn’t have courage now? There lies growth, the path to spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional growth.
What do you need courage to do this very minute? Open a journal and list those things you’d really like to accomplish. How can you step forward? Pray. Seek wisdom and guidance. Plan. Pray again.
“He who began a good work in you will see it to completion” Philippians 1:6 (ESV).
Try writing your own name in the blanks: _______ is joyful, humble, kind, loving, compassionate, and _______ wants to influence others for good.
You are a brave, beautiful woman, and you have the courage to fulfill God’s purpose in you. Hope embraces every season. So the next time the mirror starts talking, remember who had the first word. Your life is a light to others. Let it shine.You are a brave, beautiful, woman, and you have the courage to fulfill God’s purpose in you. Hope embraces every season. Your life is a light to others —Let it shine.
DiAnn Mills is an award-winning novelist of 110 books. To find out more about her ministry and story check out diannmills.com
