Social media is an amazing tool, but it can also be very destructive if…
If we utilize it as the benchmark of our self image. If we allow it to be the hallmark of our validation. If we choose to use it as a sign post of our self worth, when the number likes and comments we receive matter more than our message. Or if we use it as a mechanism of comparison, believing that other peoples lives are better than ours. It’s so easy to get reeled in to the false reality of social media, into believing that other people have what we are longing for or missing in life.
Over the course of my very long journey of preparation with God I have been sequestered in isolated in places, far away from everything that was familiar. I longed for so much. I was extremely lonely. For six years of the journey I was the primary caregiver for my mom and aunt, the nonagenarians of our family. As their health declined my depression increased. I was in despair. I felt hopeless more times than I could count. And countless times I came to a place where I told God that I did not want to continue living in the state of suffering that I was in. And from this state of mind and from this lens whenever I looked at social media posts I became unfurled. I fell into a deep dark abyss.
It was in my darkest moments where God reached down and carried my weary soul to higher ground. I always came out of the darkness with profound wisdom and increased power and strength from God.
I learned that I must be sure footed, that my foundation (mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically) needed to be solid. And if I am not feeling 100% take my emotions and my concerns to God first, and reach out to my support system. I learned to always keep it real, because real is the only way. I am not striving for perfection. I am thriving from a platform of authenticity, transparency, and vulnerability. Because vulnerability is one of our greatest strengths. I am life coach who has been life coaching women for over 25 years. It’s okay to not be okay.
No one has a perfect life. There will be valleys before we reach mountain tops. Difficulties, trials, suffering, and loss are universal. The grass in other peoples’ lawns is not greener it has brown spots too.
Comparison is the thief of joy. Serve the audience of One, and everything else will follow. Sustainable, real, and truthful validation and self worth comes from God.
Through it all I’ve learned countless lessons and I am so very humbly grateful to be filled with a deep well of water, wisdom. Vast wells have walked long roads and are filled through many trials. It’s in our suffering that we draw closer to God. It’s in the depths of our difficulties and trials that we know that God is real, that we see His/Her (Genesis 1: 27) hands upon our lives, and we come to know the truth that we are not alone. We have not been forgotten or forsaken, because Jesus has left us with His Spirit as our comforter and our guide.
We cannot help others who are going through life’s challenges unless we have walked through challenges ourselves.
I am Who God says I am and I disregard everything else that says otherwise. Full Stop.
I am worthy of God’s very best and I will accept nothing less. Full Stop.
What we say about ourselves to ourselves matters most.
We can post positivity and we can reaffirm affirmations all day long, but what do we believe in the inner core of our spirit, and what do we say to ourselves in the quiet recesses of our thoughts?
We can’t look to others to define who we are, who we are becoming, or what we will achieve in our lifetime, because if we are looking to people then we are looking in the wrong place. The One who created you is the One who defines you, His/Her (Genesis 1:27) name is God.
Who defines your character?
Who determines your worthiness and your value, is it your family, friends, social media, or is it God?
Footnote: I received the following response to my reference of God the Father as He/She stating that what I wrote was not biblical, nor does it seem Christian. Additionally, I was told that my reference sounds like New Age or political correctness. For the record I take my work and especially my personal relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit very seriously. I would not release content that is misleading or that would dishonor God in any way. According to the Word of God in Genesis 1: 27 God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them: male and female he created them. God is Being, and there is nothing higher or greater than God. Jesus was a man. And the Holy Spirt is a He, and that is male because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus Christ who was both completely human as a man and completely Divine of God. God is everything that we will ever need. He is the bread of life, and shows up for us in whatever way we need. He is there for us as a Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, and Friend- this is God, whose dwelling is holy. Psalm 68:5
.Related Post: http://joantaylor.org/2022/02/17/the-power-of-self-talk/
P.S. If this message has encouraged you share it with a friend. If this message has blessed your soul would you consider sowing a seed. I am currently life coaching women who are in need of my help, but are unable to afford the cost of the services. Read more about our fundraiser here: https://joantaylor.org/2022/03/16/joan-taylor-ministries-update/
Blessings and Love,
Joan
I have always believed that God is who we need when we need guidance, counseling, nourishment, chastisement, nurturing and healing. If it is “safe” to call God a lawyer, a doctor or any other adjectives, it is safe to call Him Mother, Father, Brother, Sister He’s a fence and a hedge. Not trying to be facetious but HE IS what or who we need Him to be at any particular place or time. When we need a mother’s love and nurturing, He is that. When we need the firm hand of a Father, He is that. When we need a big brother to come to our rescue, He is that. When a sister’s ear is required, He is that. I don’t think it’s blasphemous to speak of God in the feminine tense, after all, He created men and women, in His image. You can’t do that without feminine attributes. He is a full circle, there are no gaps. If a person is not on the level of understanding this precept that’s ok. As they seek the Lord He will open vistas we have yet to view. There is no lack of knowledge, in God, only people who decide to reject knowledge. Hosea 4:6 – My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Why do we try to limit God? We put limits on the limitless and we try to control the uncontrollable. We call Him the straight and narrow gate, the way, the truth and the life, (John 14:6), a hedge, a warrior, a Prince of Peace and a host of other attributes. Is it less Christian to call Him all of these other adjectives, I think not. If we don’t open our hearts, our ears and our eyes we may miss knowledge that was given to someone else to pass along to those in their sphere of influence. Eat the fruit and spit out the seeds. Don’t judge someone because you don’t know something, there’s a lot about God we will never know but when we find those jewels in the field don’t hesitate to buy that field, Matthew 13:44 Thank you Sister Joan for sharing the knowledge, above all any of us can ask or thing. Be blessed and continue to walk the path marked for you.
Yes, indeed. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. This is a word of teaching in alignment with the Word of God. I do hope that you will continue to stop by and share with others what God has deposited within you. Blessings and Love, Cousin