Recently, I started reading the book Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. Shortly after the Lord had laid Philippians 4:6* on my heart, my friend recommended and lent this book to me. She told me that it was really good. She was right! Right now, I’m only about a third of the way through, but already I have gained some really great insight from this book.
The first part of the book is about being content; with your role, with your circumstances, and with who I am. Before I had read the chapter on being content with me, the Lord had been pressing this on my heart. As women, I think we are constantly struggling with comparing ourselves to others, thinking we aren’t good enough. But this is not what the Bible tells us. Psalm 139:14 tells us we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” In this verse, the Psalmist says, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” When was the last time I praised God for how I was made? I don’t know about you, but I think I complain about myself way more than I praise God for how I was made. I realized though, that complaining about myself is in essence criticizing God’s handiwork; His creation that he formed in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13**).
One quote in the book that really stuck out to me was a quote from George MacDonald, a man C.S. Lewis called his mentor. It states: “I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God’s thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking.”
When I read this quote, I couldn’t help but think of all of the magnificent things God has created; the sun, moon, galaxies, beautiful things all around, yet he also created me with that same mindful eye. Not only did he create me, but he knows me by name and knows every hair on my head! I challenge each of you to think about that quote and really take it to heart. Know that God thought about you before He made you and you are definitely not a mistake!
Am I saying that this is easy to do—to not think about our less than perfect qualities? No. But I am going to choose to focus on what God promises versus what Satan is trying to tell me. I have started memorizing scripture that tells me what God promises, so when I have a negative thought, I can recall that scripture. Each week (hopefully), in my What the Word Says Wednesday post, I will share with you the scripture that I am memorizing that week. My hope is that this will encourage you to do the same!
Lexi
*Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
**Psalm 139:13-14 “For you created my inmost being;you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
