Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:4, 6, 8 The Message
We all know who she is … while she is not the same person in my life as she is in yours … we've come to recognize her as that one … that one that makes me feel uncomfortable … that one who just seems to have the perfect life … that one who looks like she always just stepped out of a fashion magazine … that one who has a ton of friends in her circle … that one who didn't gain an ounce of baby fat during her pregnancy … that one who is climbing the career ladder faster than Spider-Man can scale a building … that one …
"Anyone KNOW someone like that one?"
Ok, now that you've got her image stuck in the frontal lobe of your brain, let's examine WHY this particular individual has received this dubious mental award from you.
Because you KNOW that no one else has really done this but YOU …
As a living example, I can spell it all out like this because I've identified that one in my life, too, Girlfriend. And yes, I'm embarrassed to admit it ~~ but for your sake and mine, I'll come clean about this right here and now.
Insecurities plague the heart and soul of every red-blooded female that exists on this planet. Some of us recognize them and are making a conscious effort ~~ even if it is for the umpteenth time. Some of us refuse to admit that we have such an ailment, and will perceive life from a very skewed paradigm. And then there are those of us that recognize we suffer from the pain of our self-inflicted wounds, but choose to do nothing about resolving our situation.
"Where do you stand, Girlfriend,"
The more I ponder this concept of insecurities, the more I ask God why I feel this way ~~ and why is it like trying to remove gum at the bottom of your shoe? It never seems to ever truly go away.
I typed in insecurities and the above Scripture passage came up. So quite naturally I read ~~ and re-read ~~ and re-read … there's a lot being said there in those few verses.
Marinating on those words slowly ~~ I see that God is telling me to focus on Him:
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
If I shift my focus onto Him ~~ rather than on me ~~ it will prevent the lie of inadequacy from overruling my thought processes. If I go straight to God with my concerns, He transforms my angst into worship and praise. It's my mind that must be transformed in order to overcome the lies of insecurities.
Our Pastor spoke this morning about Satan and his lying and deceitful ways ~~ and I nearly came off my seat when this all started to make sense to me. The lies of the Enemy are a deceiving distraction to cause us to not trust in what God has promised us. When we are deceived, we believe that God didn't make us perfect ~~ that we are lacking something ~~ so we look to the world to fill that void or imperfection.
But God created us in His Image. And Christ in us is Perfection! We may not actperfect because we live in a fallen world ~~ nonetheless, if we belong to Him, we have it all. Christ in us is the very Presence of God in our lives.
So why the insecurities? We've lost our Vision ~~ we get distracted ~~ remember Eve in the Garden? Distractions led to her sin. She soon wanted something that she thought would give her what she lacked.
And so it is with our own mindset, Girlfriend ~~ whether it is that one who seemingly has the absolute perfect life, career, body, etc. We must keep our minds fixed on Christ …
"You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character, Because he trusts and takes refuge in You with hope and confident expectation." Isaiah 26:3 Amplified
Whenever that one enters our path, thought process, environment ~~ anxiety sets in. Worry becomes our friend and confidence is shaken right out from beneath our feet. Our heart races and soon a flood of negativity and ill words are hurling and swirling around in our immediate sphere of existence.
But what if … just what if …
We take to heart what God says to do … back to Philippians 4 …
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
Isaiah says we will live in perfect peace if we just keep our minds on Him. Notice Isaiah uses the words "committed" and "focused." That infers effort on our part. God won't simply "pour" these talents into us without our willful partnering up with Him in our hearts. That requires sincerity and authenticity.
For all the energy we've wasted on that one ~~ the tears, sleepless nights, relentless pursuits to imitate ~~ all so that we become more like that one ~~ we couldn't have been more off-target than a blindfolded person trying to aim at the moon!
This is what happens when we are distracted ~~ we become vulnerable to deception. Lock-in on this with me Sister ~~ God LOVES you so much, that He CHOSE you before the foundation of the world!
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4 NLT
You are uniquely YOU ~~ an original by all definitions ~~ created and handmade to be only you, by order of the Creator Himself. And He makes NO Mistakes.
So that one is just as beautiful as you are ~~ for all you know, she may be thinking those same insane thoughts you were thinking about her! Christ died for her just as He did for you and me.
Look at what the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:
Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
I know this ministered to my heart and soul, and I pray that you will soon feel the burden of that one soon transform into that one you love to Christ. Pray wholeheartedly for that one ~~ and possibly you and she will dance together at the Marriage Feast of The Lamb.
I love you to Heaven and Back, Girlfriend ~~
LindaRJohnson
T2T Visionary
Titus Two 