That's me. The woman you see in the left-hand corner. She looks very confident and sure of herself. I mean, just a few years ago she never would have made such a face, much less shared it on social media with her friends and family.
But that's just what she did.
One day, she feels comfortable enough in her own skin to do things like that. The next day may be completely different; she may even hate herself because she ate one piece of junk food. She steps on the scale and lets the number determine her outlook on life. She may start worrying about what so-and-so must have thought about her when she laughed at an awkward moment or said something stupid. She wonders how she can be so old yet feel so little.
And then, she really starts to feel miserable.
She forgets - too easily - who she is. Not who she is all on her own, but who she is with the God who took her and made her a new creation in Him. She forgets what He has done for her, and why these things are so trivial in the end.
Because, it's not who we are today as much as it is who we are tomorrow. How I 'feel' should never determine how I live my life. Feelings are never stable. They don't last forever. They can easily be swayed.
The Bible says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Psalm 118:8) It is better to fully trust in the Lord for everything we may need or desire, than to have that trust in man who will sway with the wind.
My heart should be completely engrossed in the living God that I don't care too much about what I am wearing or how I talk, or what I eat and how I eat, or if I offend anybody. (That is not to say that we shouldn't care at all, as Paul was saying in Romans 14:21.)
But we should be confident enough in the Lord that the worry and the wondering shouldn't consume us.... which is why I sometimes break away from social media altogether, because I don't want to cave to wondering why so-and-so did not 'like' my comment or comment on my post.
But, there is also the flip side. We are warned not to become over confident, either:
"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12)
In all reality, worrying so much about what others must think of me, is actually very selfish. I should be caring for others with the energy I have exerted in worry and carefulness. What about the widows and orphans God tells us to care about? What about the person next door you have never talked to but see looking lonely? What about the many who have not heard the Good News of our Lord and Savior?? -What about them?
Finally -
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)
The most commonly quoted version of the verse above uses the word "anxious" in place of "careful." But I think the word "careful" is much more meaningful. All we have to do is merely not care much about anything, but instead pray with thanksgiving - basically, leave it in His lap and forget about it.
So, as I sit here in my yoga pants and oversized t-shirt I'm going to finish reading God's love letter to me, dump my thoughts and cares completely on Him, knowing that my confidence is in Him no matter what I do or what I say, and ask Him to lead me in the way everlasting.
