“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10
I love the imagery from this Scripture in Isaiah of clothing yourself in a robe of righteousness. I visualize myself putting on a luxurious robe that completely envelopes me from neck to ankles as if putting on my “new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Eph 4:24 NLT). The Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Psalm 139:14 and Gen 1:27). These truths about who I am make me marvel, but for many years, even after I was saved, I struggled to see myself the way that God sees me.
I’m not exactly sure when the lie started, but in my teen years, until I was about 22, I often felt condemned about my weight and the way I looked. No one ever said the words to me, but the thoughts, “you are fat” or “you are ugly”, would go through my mind. When I was 22, I attended a Christian women’s retreat and some ladies prayed for me. While they were praying, I had a powerful revelation of the extravagant love of God; I visualized myself standing in front of a mirror with Christ standing behind me with his arm around my shoulder. He said to me, “Elizabeth, you are so beautiful! I made you in the image of God, and I made you wonderfully well!”
All at once, it became incredibly clear that Satan had been the source of those subtle condemning thoughts. I saw them for what they were: lies! And I began to see myself as Christ saw me, a beautiful person made in His image. I experienced incredible freedom.
Being a mom now of 3 children, it can be all too easy to focus on my shortcomings. I mess up a lot, and so do my kids. Those condemning thoughts can subtly sneak in again in a different way that say, “you’re not a good mom”, or “you’re messing up your kids”.
But guess what? Those thoughts are not from God! When God sees us, He doesn’t see our shortcomings or failings or maybe the couple extra pounds on our hips, He sees the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 5:21)! He sees His beautiful creation, His own daughter, clothed in garments of salvation, and robed in His righteousness. We can let go of striving for perfection, and focus on the One who is already perfect in every way. As we recognize lies for what they are, understand how much we are cherished by our loving Father, and set our focus on Christ, He transforms us, making us more and more like Him every day (2 Cor 3:18).
With Love,
Elizabeth and the Help Club for Moms team
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