Overcoming Low Self-Esteem

Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created human beings in His own image. His thoughts and intelligence are infinitely higher than ours, but it doesn’t take much to comprehend that God wanted a relationship with us. He wanted a family, and we’re it. We are His sons and daughters, and He has given us an eternal inheritance through His first and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The psalmist, King David, wrote in Psalm 139:14(NIV), “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” David understood that he was not perfect and had faults, but he also marveled at the reality that humans are created beings, and as such, we are God’s wonderful and exquisite masterpieces.

Some people don’t feel about themselves the way the psalmist expressed in Psalm 139:14. David was very humble before God. He didn’t think himself above what he should have. He glorified God, recognizing that Heavenly Father cannot make a mistake, and that He loves His children very much. David understood that nothing is hidden from God, and that God knows everything there is to know about us, from the smallest to the greatest detail. Ephesians 1:4(NLT) says, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” God knew about each of us long before we entered our mother’s wombs, and He planned for our existences.

A person that is struggling with self-confidence may not understand how important it is to see themselves the way God sees them. Ephesians 2:10(NLT) says, “For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” God looks at us and sees the masterpiece He’s created in Christ, but a person with low self-esteem may lack confidence in who God has created them to be, and what He has created them to do.

Low self-esteem causes a person to feel unloved and inadequate. They don’t feel good enough and are sometimes very anxious about outcomes. They try to protect themselves from uncomfortable situations by setting rules that can make them seem inflexible and overprotective.

I have a friend who does this. She has a speech disorder. Her doctor diagnosed her some years ago with a medical term that I have forgotten, but even when I first heard it, I dared not try and pronounce it. Whenever her anxiety level is elevated, her speech disorder makes carrying on a conversation challenging. She’s very self-conscious, and for years her self-esteem has been greatly affected by this disorder. Refusing to try new things, she is at times paralyzed by even the thought of being in a new or unfamiliar environment. Her beliefs about herself are very negative, and she refuses to believe in her worth.

We must be ever so careful not to declare, accept, or believe something that goes against what God says. We are what He says we are, we can be what He says we can be, and we can do what He says we can do. Numbers 23:19(NLT) tells us, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Our goal in life must be to believe what God says, to think what He thinks, and to speak what He speaks. For some of us, this is difficult when it comes to our own selves, but there must be a willingness on our parts to trust God and allow Him to help us build our self-esteem. 1Corinthians 1:9 tells us that He has called us into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, and there isn’t a privilege or honor greater in all of time and in all the universe. Heavenly Father has bestowed this honor on us because He, in His incomparable, infinite power and intelligence, has deemed us worthy of it.

God has spoken. He, alone, has defined our worth, and He thinks us worthy enough to have given the life of His only begotten Son as payment for our sins. Jesus said in John 10:10(NKJV), “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The thief is the devil, and he wants us to feel low so he can defeat us and steal the power and authority that Christ has given us, but we must recognize his tricks for what they are. God is not a man, and He doesn’t lie. What He declares worthy, no one can make unworthy.

Low self-esteem slowly and progressively stole our identity, but we can get it back and we should. It is a cause worthy of our most tenacious effort, and this effort must be led by the Holy Spirit that indwells us. He will guide us into all truth, and here are just few scriptures that we should cement in our hearts so we can partner with his leadership:

2Corinthians 5:17(NLT), “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

John 1:12(NLT), “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

2Timothy 1:7(NLT), “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

2Timothy 1:9(NLT), “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 2:20(NLT), “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We must write down scriptures from God’s Word like these and make it a daily practice to speak these Words of life into own hearts and minds. God’s Word is the truth and as we say and believe what He thinks and says, we will be transformed into men and women that are confident in Christ and committed to be all He has called us to be.■

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Overcoming Low Self-Esteem” written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2021. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior