5 Lies Women Believe about Themselves

Lie #1: “I Have to Be Perfect”

I know Perfectionism. Let’s call her “Ms. P” for short. She showed up in my life somewhere in the middle of elementary school and decided to stick around. She doesn’t play well with others. I don’t know why I kept her around for so long. I tried to get her to leave a few times, but she always came back—until I found some truth that finally sent her packing.
Look what was hiding in Hebrews: “By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (10:14). What? I’ve already been made perfect? I thought at first my Bible might have a typo. But it turns out it’s true. I’ve already been made perfect. And so have you.

Lie #2: “I Need to Be More Like Her”

Women were created by God to be inherently relational. This means we’re always checking in, asking ourselves, “How’s she doing? How’s she doing? How’s she doing?”
This is a reflection of our tender hearts and compassionate natures. It’s a beautiful thing that makes us excellent mamas, wives, and friends. Where we get tripped up is when we follow that first question with, “How am I doing compared with her?” God’s answer? Focus on him and his plan for your life. Your story and strengths belong to you. God doesn’t compare them (or you) to anyone else, and you don’t have to either. Big sigh of relief. So as we explore our strengths together (and live them out with others), let’s go for these three steps: share, care, prayer. And skip the compare.

Lie #3: "I Don't Have Anything to Offer"

When parts of my heart or life don't measure up to my expectations, I tend to hide them. But what if someone would be blessed by what I have to share and they miss out because I hide it? I'm terrible at the holidays, and I'm thinking most of you are Holiday Queens who are far superior to me in making all the seasons of the year bright. But maybe, just maybe you feel the same way about something in your life too. But that I mean there's some part of you that God has said is "fearfully and wonderfully made" but you're just not quite sure about that yet. Women seem to be pretty good at agreeing with God unless he's talking nice about us. Let's put all we've got on the table for him and share it with our whole hearts. One of the biggest lies the enemy tries to tell us is that we don't have anything worthwhile to offer. Girls, we do. And God says it's good.

Lie #5: “I Am Who Others Say I Am”

We tend to accept what others say about us as the truth about who we are. And it may be—as long as it aligns with what God says about us too. At some point, we have to deliberately choose to put those lies behind us. Until we’re in heaven we won’t see the complete picture—even about who we are. But we can begin to look into God’s truth and ask him to show us what we need to know. This process takes time. It’s not simple. It will feel awkward, uncomfortable, and as if what you’re telling yourself isn’t real at all. But it is possible. The hard work that it requires means holding on to the truth no matter what your emotions may try to tell you instead.

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