There really is such thing as a Jesus glow. The glow where you’re so full of Jesus, it’s so evident and so seen from within that it overflows onto the outside of you. You see, it’s one thing to be beautiful on the outside, but it’s a whole other thing to become beautiful on the inside. There are a LOT of physically beautiful women in this world, but outward beauty means nothing when the fruit on the inside is rotten.The darkness in this world sucks the life out of you, and blows your flame out resulting in lifelessness. The only way I could ever describe myself before I knew Jesus was lifeless.
I became so full of Jesus! A girl who was carefree, living for Jesus and Jesus only, loving life, loving people with a genuine love, healing my gut, taking care of myself spiritually, mentally, and physically. It showed throughout my entire being. I like her. Her self-worth came from Jesus, and no longer needed validation from people. Her confidence came from God and not man. After 20 years of trying to fit in the same box with everyone else, this girl knows that the only right way to live is to stand out, to go against the current, and do the opposite of what the world says to do.
But that changed, the second I started scrolling on social media was the second I realized little old me wasn’t good enough. I started changing things about myself to try to fit into a box the other girls were in, like I was back in high school again, trying to fit in with the cool guys or the pretty girls. I started molding myself into someone else until one day it hit me⏤I didn’t even know who I was! I didn’t even know the things I loved to do because for years and years I was being “influenced” by other people.
How sad is that?! When we’re influenced so much throughout our day to day living, we lose who WE truly are. I realized my self-worth was diminishing. I realized I was getting further and further away from who I really am. Why do we try so hard to fit in, when the Bible clearly states that we should STAND OUT.
Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Yet, we still live in bondage and put ourselves through suffering just so that we can fit in. Is it worth it? Is it worth losing yourself so that you can fit the criteria of everyone else? I can tell you from experience, it’s NOT. Fitting into society is stressful, it’s disheartening, it’s EXHAUSTING and takes a HUGE toll on the mind, body AND the soul. It’s damaging to who you really are. It’s so easy to get caught up in society, and spend your whole life trying to meet the expectations of others. If anything will destroy your whole being, it’s THAT. It can kill everything good part of your life if you let it.
Matthew 16:26 says “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?”
We are here for a mission, each and every one of us has a calling on our life, and I can assure you it’s not to fit into a box other people build. BREAK OUT of the box, influence others to break out of the box, and run with Jesus! Stop letting the world be your instruction manual and use Him as your guide.
That’s what I did many months ago, and although I can be somewhat sucked back into the world and the grip of influence it has on me with material THINGS each day, I find myself more and more unhappy with those things. Truth is, things used to make me happy. Getting dressed up used to fulfill me. Doing my makeup used to make me feel good. Even though I do it because that’s what I know how to do and that’s how people know me, BUT it doesn’t make me happy.
The only true “joy” comes from Him. Each day I find myself naturally making my way back to my true home again. My home in Him. The place where I am encouraged to be the REAL me. I don’t know if you know this, but your true identity can only be found in Him. How you find YOU, is by getting into the word of God, and into communion and prayer with the Father.
Let Him do the molding. Let Him transform and renew your mind. That is the true you. So, this is me in the happiest state of my life. Truly! I was so HIGH on life, and my relationship with Jesus was thriving so much that I didn’t have a care in the world what the WORLD thought of me. My focus was HIM. I’m determined to be THAT girl again. The more I realize the negative effects the media has on all of us, the more disheartened I become.
No one is exempt from feeling empty after mindlessly scrolling for hours throughout the day. No one is exempt to comparison when you see people living their best life, when the truth is, the little glimpses we see of their life is not reality. We only see the good stuff, the highlights.
No one has a perfect life. Everyone has struggles, everyone has trials and tribulations, no one’s life is all butterflies and rainbows. Somehow social media makes us forget that. Those little highlights of a person's day have the power to make us think their life is perfect.
Let’s face it, you don’t want to see people living their “best” life when your own looks dull. I heard a quote that says, "Someone else’s light shouldn’t dim yours." It’s so true. For some reason, when we see people who have what we don’t have, it makes us think our lives aren’t as important, fun, or valuable.
We need to get out of that mindset. Each one of us is unique, and each one of us has something special to bring to the table. Never let anyone else tell you who you are. Let God show you who YOU are. Let’s take back the power of our lives from the enemy and put it BACK in the hands of our Creator.
