Avis Ward

Low Self-Esteem Indicted and Sentenced to Death



Posted: Saturday, July 12, 2008

by Avis Ward
GeoVi's Home for Pregnant Teens

There is a distinct difference between confidence and arrogance. To have confidence in one's self and the ability to perform confidently in our work is required.

What this article addresses is not work-related self-esteem but personal. It is quite possible, however, for personal self-esteem to negatively affect work performance. When a person does not believe in themselves because of their past, peer or societal pressures, or what someone is telling them, their self-esteem is threatened. This is an indictment against low self-esteem and its death sentence.

Others have found ways to overcome the battles fought from low self-esteem. They have used professional counselors and therapists to help them climb from the drudges of depression to self-acceptance and happiness. That is a recommended course of action to take if you are privy to these services. In case you are not and battle with low self-esteem, you may find steps you can take on your own to win the battle, once and for all.

Christ asked the disciples, "who do you say that I am?" Only one knew the answer. Because of it, the one knowing the answer was given a new name, Peter, meaning "the rock." He let Peter know that it was not flesh and blood that revealed that to him but His Father in Heaven. This made Jesus aware of Peter's ability to hear from God, the Father.

It is of paramount importance that we know who we are. Knowing who we are is the first step in battling low self-esteem. We must determine who we are and accept it. As a believer, I get answers about who I am from I Am. Family and friends could be asked this question but I risk receiving the answers they know I want to hear. Their answers could be biased. I would also risk being told something that's actually superficial. They could tell me something that has nothing to do with what makes me, me! That could adversely affect the relationship. So, if you want to know who you are, why not ask the One who created you?

If you bought an iPhone, for example, you'd go to the manufacturer's instruction manual to learn everything you needed to know about it. To me then, it makes perfect sense to go to the manufacturer's instruction manual (the Holy Bible), to find out who we are.

A quick search would reveal many things about who we are. The first thing we learn is we were made in the image and likeness of our Creator. Wow, that has to say something about our importance, doesn't it? Nothing else in all creation was made in His image. We must not let the world define who we are. We learn in Psalms 27 that even if our mothers and fathers abandoned us, the Lord will hold us close. Christ has adopted us. Nothing in our past, present or future will cause Him to withhold His love from us.

No one can convince you of your value but you. If you were to allow someone other than yourself to appropriate your value, you have relinquished control of yourself to them. If you accept I Am as your Lord, He has defined your personal I am. He is completely trustworthy and will not ever manipulate you as if He were a puppeteer. He is incapable of it.

Your battle of low self-esteem can be won with facts about who you really are. Read these statements each day and for more in-depth reprogramming, study the entire chapter of the scripture references.

I am a child of God.

John 1:12

I am a branch of the true vine, and a conduit of Christ's life.

John 15:1-5

I am a friend of Jesus.

John 15:15

I have been justified and redeemed.

Romans 3:23-24; Romans 6:6

God will not condemn me; I have been set free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2

As a child of God, I am a fellow heir with Christ.

Romans 8:17

Christ has accepted me.

Romans 15:7

I have been called to be a saint

1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2

In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

1 Corinthians 1:30

My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in me

1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19

I am joined to the Lord and am one spirit with him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

God leads me in the triumph and knowledge of Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14

The hardening of my mind has been removed in Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:14

I am a new creature in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17

I have become the righteousness of God in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21

I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

I am no longer a slave but a child of an heir.

Galatians 4:7

I have been set free in Christ.

Galatians 5:1

I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 1:3

I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God.

Ephesians 1:4

I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ.

Ephesians 1:7

I have been predestined by God to obtain an inheritance.

Ephesians 1:9-11

I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 1:13

Because of God's mercy and love, I have been made alive with Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-5

I am seated in the heavenly places with Christ.

Ephesians 2:6

I am God's workmanship created to produce good works.

Ephesians 2:10

I have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13

I am a member of Christ's body and a partaker of His promise.

Ephesians 3:6; Ephesians 5:30

I have boldness and confident access to God through faith in Christ.

Ephesians 3:12

My new self is righteous and holy.

Ephesians 4:22-24

I was formerly darkness, but now I am light in the Lord.

Ephesians 5:8

I am a citizen of heaven.

Philippians 3:20

The peace of God guards my heart and mind.

Philippians 4:7

God supplies all my needs.

Philippians 4:19

I have been made complete in Christ.

Colossians 2:9-10

I have been raised up with Christ.

Colossians 3:1

My life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:3

Christ is my life, and I will be revealed with him in glory.

Colossians 3:4

I have been chosen of God, and I am holy and beloved.

Colossians 3:12

God loves me and has chosen me.

1 Thessalonians 1:4

Each of us must embrace these truths about whom we are to become assured about our self-worth. This assurance will also eliminate the falseness of low-self esteem. Our confidence then can come from who we are in Christ and not of ourselves. Accepting this will make life joyful!

2008 Avis Ward of My FM!

Avis is founder of El Elyon Outpouring Center, an Empowerment Outreach Ministry emphasizing God’s Unconditional Love and Grace and GeoVi’s Home for New Life, a nonprofit providing faith, hope, and love to teens, pregnant teens and their babies. She's CEO of Providential Coaching, a Christian Life coaching practice teaching young women how-to turn within for divine direction to learn and follow the plan God has for their lives. She's the host and creator of Devoted Housewives in the House of God, an Internet Radio Talk Show. Speaker, Seminar Leader and an Ambassador of Love. Avis respectfully acknowledges her deceased parents as her role models, and the hero and heroine in her life.
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