What do you believe?

Specifically, what do you believe about identity, beauty, and impact? It’s an important question; because how you answer it is a great indicator of how you live your life.

So, let’s break down these three words…

Identity

What you believe about your identity will determine how healthy your relationships are, how much you pursue your God-given dreams, and how happy you are. It will affect how well you love others, and how much you allow others to love you. It can mean the difference between being confident, and being prideful; pursuing excellence (a good thing) or striving for perfection (not so good, though our culture would argue that…).

Our culture teaches women that our identity is found primarily through how we present our physical bodies to the world.

God’s Word teaches us that our identity is found in being His daughters.

Which do you believe?

Click here to read what is true about identity.

Beauty

What you believe about your identity has a direct correlation to what you believe about beauty. For example, if you believe our culture’s message that says your identity is defined by your outward appearance, this belief will likely lead you to focus on what you can do to change, alter or ‘perfect’ your outward appearance. Or perhaps, it will lead you to give up on taking care of your body altogether – the images presented in the media too difficult to even try measuring up to. Ironically, the frustration, disappointment, anxiety and emptiness that accompany such pursuits are quite the opposite of true beauty.

Our culture teaches women that beauty is skin deep.

God’s Word teaches us that true beauty comes from within, when we reflect Christ.

Which do you believe?

Click here to read what is true about beauty.

Impact

What you believe about identity and beauty will ultimately determine what kind of impact you make in this world. Think about it… if we believe that our identity is tied to our appearance, which leads us to be frustrated with our bodies, have a love/hate relationship with food, withdraw socially, and become self-absorbed, what kind of impact does that have on those around us? Is it positive? Or negative?

On the other hand, if we can believe that our identity is found in Christ, and that our beauty is about more than our outward appearance, how much more likely are we to love others and allow them to love us? How much more time and energy might we have to invest in serving others? How much more passionate can we be about pursuing God’s dreams for our lives?

Our culture teaches women that we impact our world most with our bodies.

God’s Word teaches us that we impact others most out of who we are, and that the greatest impact we can have is to reflect Christ to a world that needs Him.

Which do you believe?

Click here to read what is true about impact.

Wrestling with the Truth

At one point or another, all of us struggle to embrace God’s truth in our lives. Maybe we feel He’s let us down; disappointments have overtaken us and we have simply lost faith in a God who allows bad things to happen to good people.

Or maybe it’s hard to believe that the God of the universe cares intensely and deeply (or even at all) about what we consider to be ‘little’ things, such as our frustration with our bodies, our struggles with food, our desire to be liked by others.

Yet another challenge can be the idea of trusting that God actually does want what’s best for us, or that perhaps what He thinks is best is something that we don’t even want.

The good news is that God is not threatened by our questions, our frustrations, even our anger. But He does long for us to trust Him, to see that He is, indeed good. That He does, indeed, care. And that He will, indeed, show us truth. If we will only ask Him.

“And you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32