What Do You See When You Look In The Mirror?

Sharon JaynesConfidence in Christ, Enough, Renewing your mind with the Truth 28 Comments

What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see yourself as God sees you?

I was in the sixth grade when I first ventured into the House of Mirrors at my hometown county fair—a mere 12 years old. My friends and I ran from booth to booth, suckered into paying good money to play rigged games. For hours we gave cash to shady carnival characters in hopes of winning a stuffed purple polka-dotted snake, an oversized tie-dyed teddy bear, or a cheesy piece of jewelry we’d never wear. Personally, I stuck with Pickup Ducks—a sure win.

But of all the sideshows at the carnival, it was the House of Mirrors that captured my attention.

We walked through maze-like halls, giggling at the distorted images of ourselves. Short and stubby. Tall and lanky. I looked at the various versions of me and tried to decide which one I liked best. See, deep inside, in a place no one knew existed, I was in search of another version of me. I did not like the one I knew best.

Now that I’m older, I realize women all around the world have grown up with a distorted view of who they really are. They look into the mirror and see words that don’t match up with the truth about who God created them to be.

They look into the mirror of value and see the word worthless.

The mirror of success and see the word failure.

The mirror of competence and see the word inadequate.

The mirror of acceptance and see the word rejected.

The mirror of comparison and see the word inferior.

The mirror of performance and see the words not good enough.

The mirror of sufficiency and see the words not enough…period.

Many women live in a house of mirrors, believing distorted interpretations of who they are—and the devil polishes that mirror of deception every day to keep it shiny.

I know the House of Mirrors well. I grew up there. Lived there for years. For decades, feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy held me captive to a “less than” life. I was misshaped by the words of others interpreted by a needy little girl who just wanted to be accepted and loved.

You might expect me to say, “But then I met Jesus and all my insecurities miraculously disappeared.” Oh, I wish that were the case, but that little insecure, lost girl grew up to become an insecure Christian woman.

It wasn’t until I was in my mid-thirties that I began to come out of that house of mirrors and look into the only mirror that really matters: God’s truth.

The Bible says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” (Romans 12:2). When I was in my thirties, an older woman in my church told me it was time to renew my mind with the truth of who I was, what I had, and where I was (my position) as a child of God.  She encouraged me to make a list of my true identity. I had read those verses scattered throughout Scripture before, but when she encouraged me to cluster them all together, God began a new work in my mind and my heart.

You are a saint.

You are chosen.

You are dearly loved.

You are holy.

These truths were right there on the pages of my Bible in black and white, and a few in red.

You are reconciled through Christ’s life.

You are justified by Christ’s blood.

You are free from condemnation through Christ’s death.

You have the mind of Christ.

You can do all things through Christ.

I knew the verses were the infallible Word of God, but I felt rather squeamish hearing them, reading them, believing them. But I had a choice to make. Was I going to believe God told the truth?

I decided that even though the verses about my true identity as a child of God felt uncomfortable, I was going to believe God. And that’s what I’m challenging you to do today. Let’s do it together! Let’s decide to look into the mirror of God’s truth—to silence the inner critic that holds us hostage and silence the lies that steal our confidence. Let’s renew our minds with God’s truth and look into the only mirror that matters.

Heavenly Father, sometimes I tend to believe the lies from my past rather than the truth of Scripture. Help me to renew my mind with Your truth and see myself as You see me, no matter how beautiful it may be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What is one biblical truth that you can use to combat the lies that feed your greatest insecurity? Click comment and let’s compare notes

Enough BookDo the voices in your head say you’re not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough…or just not enough, period? In Enough: Silencing the Lies that Steal Your Confidence, I expose the lies that keep you bogged down in feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy. By recognizing the lies and replacing them with truth, you’ll be able to silence the lies that say you’re not enough, and preload your mind with the truth that says you are.

My True Identity in Christ Prayer Card And to tuck in your Bible, check out the laminated list of your true identity in Christ filled with verses.

 

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Comments 28

  1. This seem to be custom made for me. It fits like a glove, someone who know me must have written this.

    I have been through everything I read in this passage and more. Fortunately, Jesus saw my need and drew me close to him. Thank God for his saving grace. Ians mercies. I still have some struggles but I am learning to hold onto Jesus.

    The greatest pain and humiliation of course, came from family members. I cringed at the sight of certain people. Worst of all I was deceived by my favorite sibling and was totally devastated. A harsh reality but thanks be to God I am recovering. Please pray for me.

    1. I will keep you in my prayers and will ask my husband to pray for you as well. Prayer in numbers is so powerful and healing. It will get better . God loves you. 🌻

    2. I’m so sorry for your suffering….I, too was attacked and persecuted by family and there is nothing worse. My prayers are with you because I know your pain and the long term effect it will have on you. I pray that God will put friends in your life that become family as he did for me.

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    2. That’s how I feel some days too but we can’t listen to the devils lies. He wants to drag us down but Jesus’ love wants to lift you up. Up where you belong in his warm embrace where He forgives you and calls you his child. His own. His beLOVEd. That’s the real truth.

    3. Use an expo marker on your mirror, write different reminders, verses, whatever you need to teach yourself. You can change it up as much as you need to, it just wipes off. This way you can visually see it everyday to help change your mindset. I knw easier said than done… I struggle too, but it’s a work in progress. Prayers for you.

  2. Blessed n highly favored n another one of God’s promises that keep me going is I will never leave u nor forsake u.

  3. This scripture continues to transform my thinking in social settings & life’s circumstances that I have no control over; ie: adult kids, work environment, etc. 💞 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
    ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4:6-7‬ ‭

  4. Dear Sharon,
    This is so amazing, I sent it to everyone I could think of. Thank you for having the gifting of words that teach and reach so many people. You have such a great way of storytelling, that I always get it and it always speaks to my heart. I always treasure getting your emails. God is doing amazing work through you and in you. Thank you so much.

  5. GOD is all powerful and Almighty.
    GOD knows everything about us, our past, our present, our future. He said in Isaiah 55:3…”Come to Me, Come to Me and I will give you LIFE.”
    GOD also said in JOHN 10:10 that “JESUS came for us so that we will have Life to the fullest.”
    GOD also said in Jeremiah 33:3 ..”Call unto Me and I will show you great and marvelous things”…lastly, GOD also said in Jeremiah 29,, “You will seek Me when you seek Me with all your heart and soul”….so with all these promises from GOD, i encourage you to call unto GOD, seek Him, come to Him, look-up to HIM and He will be right there with us to help us, be with us forever.

    Psalm 121:1-2
    “I look up to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes From the LORD our GOD, our Heavenly Father Almighty.”

    GOD’S words are true, holy and living.
    Let us make it a point to read His word first thing in the morning every day to shut-up the enemies’ lies in JESUS’ mighty name amen.

  6. Beautiful and I can use this daily 🙂 A precious friend reminded me that God calls me beloved, that brought me to tears. When the world, even our loved-ones, can be harsh, it is so awesome to have our Father’s perfect love and reminders of how he sees us. That mirror can be clouded with other people’s judgements.

  7. Praise god from whom all blessings flow, praise him all creations here below, praise him above ye heavenly hosts,
    Praise father son and Holy Ghost amen

    Our women’s group has been doing “if you don’t like your story Bible” study and it has really been eye opening what lies we take on and carry with us, until we are told the truth and we don’t have to anymore. Thank you Sharon for sharing your experiences, it’s really been so beneficial to a lot of women 💜

  8. I put thus on my mirror to remind me when my inner critic wants to tell me different.

    I Praise You because
    I am Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Great are your Works .

  9. Young ladies the world over need to read this. Body shaming has become the norm. They need to know God loves them. There are days I look at myself and say “Gee I need to lose about 50lbs. But as one comment says God made me and I am perfect. My health is good I have just reached middle age and never lost all the wait from my 3rd child. Nice to be reminded that God made us all different and loves us always.

  10. When I look in the mirror and feel down, I think of Psalm 139: 14
    I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Praise always raises my spirit!

  11. Even though I grew up in a Christian home and came to know Jesus early in life. It wasn’t until I was in my 40’s, a backslidden, divorced and remarried mom, with a blended family that I truly gave my heart to God. Even though that’s been a number of year’s ago, I still struggle with who I see in the mirror. I know I’m a blood-bought child of God, a sinner saved by Grace, and even sing about it, but when left alone with my thoughts, at times, I struggle with the me I see and the me I became, once I walked away from God so long ago. I had married an unbeliever and eventually, I found myself no longer living for God. It took years for me to come back to him on an Easter Sunday during a message of the cross. But all those mistakes I made as a young woman, a young mom, creep in and try to tell me that I’m less than, I’m unworthy, etc. I do know better. Thanks for sharing, Sharon.

  12. Wow, I needed this. Honestly been struggling with getting older- thought I would still be married, and living that and instead divorced and a single mom who has gone thru some hard circumstances- I was told all my life in one way or another that I was not enough- didn’t realize I had body shame til my daughter told me she wished I was more confident as that would have helped her and you know what she is right! I need to accept no matter what age or stage I am in that God formed me and what he made is good. 🌻

    1. I understand and feel the same with divorce and children to raise and the family kick back I did the best I could and my self esteem down more than up feel like I fight the battle alone …….it is a spiritual battle……

  13. The smile that lit my face reading this is priceless! Thank you so much, Ma’am.

    I grew up with a major load of insecurities and worse: it spilled over my relationship with God. No matter what I do, there was always a nagging feeling that God would never love an inconsistent and always failing believer like me. I was always trying so hard, but failing miserably, to please people and please God. Just last month, I decided to find scriptures that would help me see myself just as God sees me. Seeing this post just melted my heart and has given me more assurance that the devil is a defeated foe and our place in God can never be taken away. God bless you Ma’am. This post has gladdened my heart and boosted my confidence. I am more than enough and loved dearly by my Heavenly Father.

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