Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
by Angela Weir
I wonder how you see yourself when you take that first glance in the mirror in the morning. I suggest it’s probably one of three ways. It could be that you take one look and shudder, noting the bags under the eyes, the extra grey hairs or lines on the forehead. Or maybe the glance is so swift that you hardly notice yourself, just a quick check to see if the hair is tidy, and then you plunge into the busyness of the day. Or just possibly you take a bit longer, give yourself a smile and say, “Thank You, Father for making me, me”.
I think there aren’t so many of us who do the third option. To do that would mean that we’re content with our bodies and the person God’s created us to be. In other words, we’ve accepted ourselves for who we are, and what we are.
Self rejection is one of the biggest hindrances to our walk with the Lord. It becomes a blockage in our relationship with Him, and with others, as we don’t feel good enough to reach out to those around us. When we think negatively about ourselves, it can also be the cause of depression, fear and anxiety, because we lose our sense of security in our heavenly Father. When we reject the person God’s created us to be, the enemy likes to ride in and make our body reject itself. So certain diseases, such as those relating to the immune system, can be caused by self rejection.
What we’re saying, even if we don’t consciously think it, is that God didn’t do a very good job when He made us, or that He made a mistake. Really? Does God make mistakes? I don’t think so. Things may have happened in our lives to make us feel like that, but the initial creation wasn’t a mistake. In Psalm 139 David talks about God watching over us as we grew in the secret place and forming us in our mother’s wombs (verses 13 and 15) and in the Bible speaks of the Lord exulting over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). If He’s so pleased with us, shouldn’t we be too? (But I don’t mean in a boastful fashion).
The verse from Isaiah at the head of this seed is for Israel, yes, but because we’re grafted into the family, (Romans 11:17), it’s for us too. Let’s learn to rejoice over what our Creator God has made, and when we look in the mirror next, smile, and thank our Father for making us who we are.
Prayer: Father God, Thank You for making me the person I am. I’m sorry I’ve rejected myself, please forgive me. I know some of my behaviour or attitudes displease You at times, so please help me to deal with them, but help me to like and cherish myself as the precious person You love and sent Your Son to die for. Thank You, Lord, Amen.
Angela Weir has been associated with Ellel Ministries from the very beginning, first as an associate member of the ministry team and later as an associate teacher. She trained as an actress before moving to Cumbria, where she taught drama in a girls’ school. She now teaches and ministers at various Ellel Centres.
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