Our culture talks a lot about self-care, but a lot of what self-care talks about isn’t biblically-centered. As Christ-followers, we are called to a high standard. Our lives (and the way we view ourselves) should reflect Him, but we often get in our own way. When we understand the depths of what we’ve been forgiven and saved from, we begin to understand God’s love for us in a new way that allows us to truly love ourselves (Luke 7:44-48). We are able to love because God loved us first.
Here are a few ways you can love yourself well:
- Speak the truth about yourself. It’s easy to say, “I’m so stupid” or “I really don’t know what I’m doing,” when those things aren’t necessarily true. What truths are you reminding yourself of daily? Psalm 139 is a great place to start if you need a reminder of who you are. Don’t let the enemy have a foothold with how you talk about yourself.
- Live like an image bearer. You are made in the image of God, but do you live like it? Do you honor God with your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37-38)? There is no one else quite like you. Your gifts, talents, and abilities are unique! “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female” (Genesis 1:26-27).
- Spend more time developing your inside than your outside. When God sent Samuel to anoint the next king, Samuel looked at the outside of the men and never would have thought David was the right one. It was the youngest, least likely son who would become king. David spent time developing his inside, and you should, too. “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the LORD sees, for humans see what is visible, but the LORD sees the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:7). God is looking at your heart—what does your heart say about you?
- You were created to be like Christ—live like it! It’s incredible how fast we forget that we were made to live in a way that is beyond our understanding. God has incredible plans for us—plans to use our lives for His glory. Are you living like it?
God has not forgotten you, no matter what your circumstances are. You are holy and loved as a child of God. He knows you by name.
“He who counts the stars, and calls them by their names, is in no danger of forgetting his own children.” Charles Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, February 24)
Mary Margaret West serves as the Girls Ministry Specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources, which basically means that teenage girls and the women who lead them are her favorite people on the planet. Mary Margaret is the author of Show Her the Way: Your Guide to Discipling Teen Girls. She is a former Girls Minister and holds a master’s degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.