Spiritual Growth in Women

God’s Word Is True for You! 

TWR Women of Hope brings hope in Jesus to women around the world and across generations. We long for women to see themselves as valuable in God’s eyes – his precious daughters. But have we accepted and applied this message in our own lives?  

Honestly, everyone has experienced the pain of hurt and rejection. Many times, our past wounds give us an inaccurate picture of who we are and how God views us. But God invites us to bring these inaccurate pictures to the Bible and compare them with what he says about us. In one modern translation of Ephesians 2:10, the apostle Paul calls us God’s masterpiece – in other words, we are like an amazing sculpture or poem that he has created and shaped exactly according to his plan. Do you believe that about yourself?  

I recently went through Chip Ingram’s daily discipleship series, Discover Your True Self: How to Silence the Lies of Your Past and Actually Experience Who God Says You Are. We used Chapters 1-3 from Ephesians to see what God had to say. 

In Ephesians 1:3-14, Paul explains that you and I were chosen by God before the world began to have a relationship with him. God determined ahead of time to adopt us as his daughters and sons. He redeemed us – a word used of slaves sold in the market. God purchased us, people who were slaves to sin, for the purpose of setting us free. 

And the price that the Father paid for us was the precious blood of his Son, Jesus. How valuable does that make us in God’s eyes? 

God also sealed us with his Holy Spirit, who is a deposit, or down payment, guaranteeing our inheritance. With God Almighty as our Father, we can rest without fear and anxiety about our present and future. All these things became true of you when you began your new life in Jesus. 

So how do we get to the point of believing this truth for ourselves? The transformation takes place when we renew our minds (Rom. 12:1-2), replacing our old inaccurate views with God’s truth. Chip Ingram’s method for doing this is to write the lie you believe on one side of a card and the relevant biblical truth with its supporting Scripture on the other. Here’s an example of a common lie.  

LIE: I must be approved or accepted by certain people to be happy or feel wanted. 

TRUTH: I am wanted, appreciated and loved by God, the most important person in my life. (Eph. 1:3-14) 

I realize that this is not simple. We can’t confront a lifetime of self-protective but wrong beliefs and instantly change all those thoughts. But it is not impossible. Can you trust God with your healing? Can you choose to believe that he understands and is genuine in his love for you? Can you trust that he can bring hope into your painful story and bring meaning as you view it through his eyes?  

So what lies are you believing about yourself? As you read God’s Word, ask yourself, “Do I believe this is true for me?” If you don’t, identify the lie you are believing instead. Focus on reading the truths of God’s Word aloud until it works its way from your mind into your heart and actions. God wants us to become mature believers and to come to understand our life and hope in Jesus.  God’s Word is true for you! 

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