Dear girl who doesn't feel good enough for love,
Do you struggle with your appearance? I know that almost every girl looks in the mirror and is not happy about the way they look. Well, beautiful girl I've got news for you, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” David was talking to God. Even in the time in which he lived, David knew he was a marvelous creation of God and acknowledged his Creator.
Without modern science to tell him that his body was complex and unique, David still recognized that fact. I wonder if David ever thought about how many things he could do at one time? Things like breathing, the beating of his heart, walking, standing, sitting, swallowing, scratching an itch, each accomplished without giving any thought. We humans can unconsciously do all these things while our brains are concentrating on other tasks.
We are so fearfully and wonderfully made that God even numbered the hairs on our heads. “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Luke 12:7). An average person has about 100,000 hairs on their scalp. Redheads have 90,000 while blondes have 140,000; brunettes fall in between. Most people shed 50-100 hairs a day. I think my four daughters lost 300 a day; hair was always all over the bathroom! As much as we love our children and grandchildren, I wonder if any of us has actually taken the time to count the hairs on their heads. Yet when God created you, he numbered each and every hair. His love far outweighs the love of any earthly parent. You may believe no one could ever love your child more than you do, but God does.
Another thing about humans is that each has a unique set of fingerprints; no two people have the same. Your DNA is unique to you. God created you to be you and no one else.
After God created you, He didn’t forget about you. He continues to want the best for you and cares about you. Isaiah 49:16 tells us we are engraved on the palms of His hands. In ancient times when sons went off to war, mothers did not have cameras to take a picture of their sons to remember them. There was no fireplace mantel full of framed pictures evoking memories. The mother would write the name of her son on the palms of her hands so that as she worked during the day she would see his name and be reminded to pray for his wellbeing. God doesn’t just have your name on the palms of His hands. He has your circumstances, your achievements, your goals, your hurts, your rejoicings, your pain. Your very life is in His hands. In God’s eyes, you are not insignificant, but important. He doesn’t make junk or mistakes. He has a plan for my life and yours. It is His promise. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you.” Jeremiah 29:11-13.
God took a great amount of care when creating your life. You are an individual, with special talents, who God created to live in this time in history, to fulfill His purpose for you.
Now, that goes against human nature. Most of us think, “There’s nothing amazing about me. Nothing wonderful. I’m just average. I’m just ordinary.” No, the fact is there is nothing at all ordinary about you! You have a fingerprint that nobody else has. There will never be another you. Even if you have a twin, they don’t have your same personality, your same goals, or your same fingerprints. You are an original. When God made you, He threw away the mold. When you say, “I am wonderful, I am attractive, I am vibrant,” not only does vitality, youth, and freshness start coming your way, but on the inside, your spirit rises up. Your self-image begins to improve, and you start carrying yourself like you’re someone special. You no longer drag through the day feeling inferior. You have that spring in your step, that “go after it” attitude.
Today, get in agreement with God. Declare what He declares about you. Declare, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” See yourself the way God sees you and experience all He has for you!
The Lord blessed me with a beautiful, healthy body and all I cared about were the numbers on the scale. God handcrafted me and gave me every ability I need in order to fulfill my purpose in His kingdom, and all I was concerned with was what other people were- or weren’t- saying about me. Does that not sound like the craziest thing? But we all do it more often than we even realize.
This is what I have learned: don’t ever try to tell God that what He has made isn’t good enough. What place do I have, or do you have, as a human being to doubt the Creator of the world’s ability to create? God doesn’t make mistakes; God doesn’t do accidents.
He writes His story of love and grace and redemption on each one of us. For me thus far it has looked like a struggle to accept, a struggle to trust, a struggle to want to fit in with the standards of the world while knowing I was created for something bigger and much better. For you, it may look different. But we were all once blank pages in His book and He is molding us, shaping us and writing our unique narratives day by day. What more could you possibly ask for?
Sometimes we are so concerned with what the world, sixth-grade boys, or that super-toned girl with no split ends in our yoga class tell us about ourselves. And we completely overlook the fact that Jesus Christ calls us beautiful and flawless.
Whatever it is about yourself that you just can’t stand, whatever part of you the world tries to twist and corrupt and use for its own crooked purposes, Jesus tells you that that wasn’t a mistake. That’s not a flaw. Because our perfect God doesn’t do flaws and He made you.
That is the truth. And don’t ever forget it.
I am a work of God, therefore I am fearfully and wonderfully made… just marvelous, really! As I memorized these verses, I slowly gained confidence. One day I woke up and realized: I knew in my soul that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God.
Do I still struggle with loving myself on the bad days? Yes. But God never fails to whisper to my heart, “I find you beautiful, and made you exactly the way I loved you.”
The question is not, “How can I be more like her?”, but rather, “How can I become more like Christ?”
If you humbly come before God, desiring to become a woman of character and beauty after His own heart… He will smile on you and guide you on the wonderful journey He has planned for you and gently hold your heart as you trust Him more and more.
God made beautiful you for a wonderful purpose. If you take the time to listen, He will tell you that every day for the rest of your life. Wait and be amazed at what He does in you and through you!
Do you ever wake up, take a good look in the mirror, and tell yourself, “No doubt about it—I’m fearfully and wonderfully made!” Maybe when you think about the kind of person you are, words like “average” or “not bad” come to mind. Sometimes you might see yourself as above average, but there are days when a closer look reveals insecurities and flaws that you can’t ignore. If you ever consider yourself unremarkable or even ordinary, you’re not seeing yourself as a result of God’s divine creation. When we discover the truth that we are God’s unique design, it is overwhelming.
In Genesis 1:27, “God created man in his own image...male and female he created them.” We often mistakenly equate this with just physical appearance. God transcends all that is physical and spatial. Only Jesus Christ is the express image of God’s person, having the same nature
The human heart is fearfully and wonderfully made, enabling us to love and experience God intimately. The heart reveals our personality—thoughts, memories, emotions, desires, will (Luke 6:45). Our hearts not only think, feel, and remember, but also choose every course of action. Our decisions should reflect an integrity of heart, with a heart that is discerning. When we live an upright and honorable life, God fills our hearts with joy (Psalm 97:11).
God places a high value on our bodies as well as our hearts. We are intricate and fleshly fine-tuning of divine wisdom, a creation “a little lower than heavenly beings” but capable of being the crown of honor and glory (Psalm 8:5). God created us to be in a relationship with Him, not as slaves to our sin, but with redeemed bodies. Others have experienced, and we must expect the failing of our physical bodies. Life after death is dependent on the gracious will and act of God through Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life for us (Romans 6:23). Christ gave His own “body,” His total person, for us, so that we can be eternally reconciled to God. So the next time you look in the mirror, see yourself as God does, “fearfully and wonderfully made”—designed to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).
"With a soul as bold as lions
And a strength to face the giants
Come and join us in the silence
For the King who saved the world
Hear the voices in the night
We sing till sunrise
Stand, stand strong
Keep holding on
We sing blessed are the persecuted
Blessed are the weak and wounded
This is your song
Stand, stand strong
Stand, stand strong
If the gravity pulls you down, down, down
Or you're lost and want to get found
Lift your eyes and turn around now
Can you see you're not alone
Raise our voices in the night and sing
Stand, stand strong
Keep holding on
We sing blessed are the persecuted
Blessed are the weak and wounded
This is your song
Stand, stand strong
Stand, stand strong
So do not be afraid
He'll keep you safe
Through fire"
So do not be afraid
He'll keep you safe
Through fire He makes you brave
So do not be afraid
He'll keep you safe
Through fire He makes you brave
Stand, stand strong
Keep holding on
Stand, stand strong
Keep holding on
We sing blessed are the persecuted
Blessed are the weak and wounded
This is your song
Stand, stand strong
Stand, stand strong
Keep holding on
Stand, stand strong
"Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint"
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
