Comfortable: When you are comfortable with yourself, you are at ease. - You’re relaxed - you have an assurance about the direction your life is going in—In a word, you feel free to be you!
How am I to be comfortable with whom I am in Christ when I live in the world where the culture’s normal way of living is calling right wrong and wrong right?
How am I to be comfortable with whom I am in Christ when the normal conversations with one another are through the use of profanity and vulgarity?
How am I to be comfortable with who I am in Christ when being vindictive and manipulative is the typical behavior and lying and cheating are acceptable?
The answer is simply: Per John 17:14-16: I live in this world, but I am not a part of this world. The world’s culture is not my culture. Thus, I can be comfortable with who I am in Christ.
I’m going to break down Galatians 2:20 as a means for women of God to realize who they are in Christ. They will come to see who they are as a woman and what you process.
“I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives within me.”
Crucified: Put to death on a cross.
(2) to treat with gross injustice; persecute; torment;
torture (11)
Persecute: Is to Harass or afflict to beset
with cruelty or malignity; To pursue in a manner to
Injure, grieve, or afflict (12)
When you are crucified with Christ, you are free to be fully yourself with God. Too often, you wear a mask and become pretentious with your relationship with God and others. This creates conflict, tension, and discomfort. Then, you began to feel uncomfortable and uneasy. My sister, this is not the relationship the Lord desires you to have with Him.
When you are pretentious, it’s due to not being the real you. Oftentimes, you may be influenced by your peers, friends, family and public opinions. When you put on that mask, you are living a facade. Therefore, I ask you this question: When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Is this the reflection of who you really are? Or, is it the reflection of whom you are pretending to be?
And some women are living multiple lives—you live one way Monday through Friday—you go clubbing on Saturday and come to church on Sunday for a refill.
The church is not a gas station. And this is the result of not being comfortable with whom you are in Christ.
The need to conform to being who you aren’t or that inner need that compels you to be like someone desires you to stem from what is known as a low self-esteem.
Self-esteem:
to reflect a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his/her own worth. (13). It encompasses emotions such as triumph, despair, and pride.
So, what is your evaluation of yourself? Is it based on the ratings of other people or on your relationship you have with Christ?
How do you rate yourself in these areas of your life? Is it above average, average, good, satisfactory or poor. How do you see yourself?
Your appearance ~
attractive, beautiful, ugly, gorgeous
Your dress apparel ~
whether you’re at home, work, in church—casual, executive, seductive, simplistic
Your Attitude ~ pleasant, nasty, cheerful, moody, bossy, mean, enthusiastic, or people enjoy being around you
Your relationship with God ~ anointed, faithful, carnal, a mature Christian, self-righteous, comfortable in your relationship with the Lord
The tone of voice—
quiet, loud, monopolize the conversation, negative/complaining, encourage and build other people up
When a woman has a low self-esteem, it means you don’t like yourself. You’re not pleased with how you look. You do not have any confidence in yourself or abilities. You do you not believe in the abilities God bestowed upon you that are waiting to emerge, neither. You’re not satisfied with the reflection you see looking back at you in the mirror. But, it’s more about how other people perceive you. Therefore, you try to fix yourself to be accepted by others. This is not God’s plan for you, neither is it His best for you.
You go through a major reconstruction of the outer you to be accepted by someone who would be better off knowing the real you.
You have a nose job—you get a face lift—you have a boob job—you begin to dress in an entirely different way. Today your hair is black. Within two weeks it’s red. Within a few days, it’s purple and green. Then, it's long today and short tomorrow or you go to the extreme and go completely bald! You wear contacts in your eyes to change the color of your eyes. You go on a diet to lose weight for no apparent reason other than allowing your mind to be infiltrated with another’s negative image of you.
Allow me to interject here: I’m not advocating that Christians can’t wear make-up or dye their hair. I wear make-up. I dye my hair. I’m speaking to those of you who are not pleased with yourself and you have this obsessive need to reconstruct yourself to live up to someone else’s expectations because you have allowed them to convince you that unless you change how they feel, you should feel that there is something wrong with you. Now, some of you here fall into this category. And I am not here to put you down.
Precious, God knows the worst about you and yet, He loves you! He needs you to be the real you with Him because you can’t “fake out” God. So, when you’re living a pretentious life you’re in bondage. And the Lord wants to set you free.
Amidst all this tucking/lifting, dying/cutting and weaving; you’re changing the outer appearance and it’s only temporary, but the real you are still unhappy. You may look different on the outside, but you feel the emptiness and a void within because there’s still something lacking. That reconstruction you have had done to yourself to live up to the standards of what someone else wants you to be may get you the attention of that man who means you no good.
It may get you into the “clique” of that inner circle of women who perceive themselves as being all that, but you still feel inadequate due to the demands they put on you. You discover that it is preposterous for you to live up to their standard of living. I’m here today, for such a time as this, to bring you to the realization that the real you - the person you really are—when you are crucified with Christ, you are free to be the real you!
My sisters, you don't have to live up to anybody's expectations or standards of living. And there's something inside of you the Lord has been trying to bring to the surface for years. Therefore, stop trying to measure up and be who God created you to be. It's time to allow God to change you from the inside out. He's the "Great Physician" and will fashion you into His precious jewel.
Are you comfortable with who you are in Christ? Why or Why not?
How has it affected your life when you allow the opinions of others to alter who you are?
Father, I am Your Daughter, created in Your image. I know who I am because of who You are. I will no longer live up to the expectations of others because I am created to be just like You. Amen!
Come back tomorrow and discover why it's vital to stop trying to please those "clicky" sisters. And enjoy the video by Jesus Culture; "Rooftop" Shout It Out; Lord, I'm Yours!
where you will always find Special SALES for family, friends, and others - I Dare You to Buy My Books!
Bless the underprivileged and those in need. Donate Here:
I highly recommend "Reflections" by Author, Kaleda E. Carthran
Please leave your comment below as such is encouraging. And share this message with others.