Do you ever feel so downhearted you have to cry? You just can’t understand why, because you’re surrounded by daily blessings. You start beating yourself up, because you feel you should be rejoicing. Yet you feel so sad.

Sometimes when we can identify why we are in the pit of gloom, when we can put a name on it, we can start dealing with it. When I received Renee Swope’s blog post – When You Don’t Know What It Is – I read,  “Self-doubt was making me question everything I thought, felt and said.” That’s it! That’s my problem. I’ve been sinking back into that self-doubt again… I second guess myself 24/7. I don’t believe in myself, and I doubt everything I do, think, say, or write. I don’t even trust my own feelings, my deep-down-in-my-gut instinct. The deep-in-my-heart knowing of Truth. Those negative voices from the past are raging a hey-day in my heart, eating away at my confidence in Christ alone.

God counted us worthy enough to create with a special unique purpose. He counted us worthy enough to die in our place. He values us, and He wants us to value ourselves as unique creations with God-given gifts. I was raised with the belief that self-esteem is connected with self-worship and a form of pride, the kind that God opposes (James 4:6), and I know there are Christians today who think “self-esteem” is self-serving, not God-serving. But I believe God created our mental faculties as well, and He created us to be lovable and capable. When humans do and say things to mess up that thinking, I believe Jesus hurts with us.  He doesn’t want us to feel worthless and unlovable. He wants us to accept ourselves as we are and to believe in ourselves as a worthwhile person, regardless of what we can or cannot do, to believe in the gifts He has given us.

Self-Esteem Helps to Hope:

• Don’t Throw Away Your Confidence – One of my favorite reminders to focus on who I am in Christ is Renee Swope’s free print-out. In three columns, she lists what our self-doubt says, what God says, and a Bible verse to prove the Truth of what God says.

• Low Self-Esteem, Satan’s Deadliest Weapon – “Low self-esteem is a gut-level feeling of inferiority, inadequacy, and low self-worth. This feeling shackles Christians in spite of wonderful experiences, in spite of their faith and knowledge of God’s word.”

• Self-Esteem Check: Too Low, Too High or Just Right? – “Self-esteem is your overall opinion of yourself — how you honestly feel about your abilities and limitations. When you have healthy self-esteem, you feel good about yourself and see yourself as deserving the respect of others. When you have low self-esteem, you put little value on your opinions and ideas. You might constantly worry that you aren’t “good enough.” 

• Building Self-Esteem by Changing Negative Thoughts – “It helps to take a closer look at your negative thought patterns to check out whether or not they are true.”

• 8 Suggestions for Strengthening Self-Esteem When You Have Depression – “Depression often distorts thinking, making a once-confident person feel insecure, negative and self-loathing.”

• Thought Awareness, Rational Thinking, and Positive Thinking – A print-out and tool to use towards more positive thinking

 YOU Are Beautiful!