“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139:14 NKJV

Accept Yourself

I have a small piece of paper on my desk—two little words obtained in a fortune cookie from a meal long forgotten: “Accept yourself.” I don’t read horoscopes or play the numbers on the back of those small pieces of paper, nor am I looking for counsel from elsewhere other than the Lord. He has, however, been stirring my heart with these simple words for months.

I wish I could say that I’m at the height of my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual journey and so it’s a breeze to say, “Yes Lord, of course I accept myself…I am fearfully and wonderfully made…Your works are marvelous…of course my soul knows that very well….” That’s not the case; honestly, I’m in the worst physical, mental, emotional and spiritual condition I’ve been in probably a decade, and yet the Lord continues to draw me to those words and to myself. I’ve come to the conclusion that until I take a good long look at myself and accept me right where I am, I won’t be moving on or up or out of this funk I find myself in anytime soon. Only in accepting me where I’m at now, as ugly and unlovable as I feel, will the Lord be able to move me on from this stagnant place I’ve found myself in for the last 12-18 months. Herein lies the crux, I don’t like myself right now, at all, and yet coming to grips with who I am here and now is the only way I’m going to be free.

I know the Lord loves me; I know He will eventually use this time for His glory and my good. Just as the seed lays under the ground for a determined amount of time, I know He is birthing something in me that will be beautiful in the desert I find myself in. Of course, He doesn’t want me to stay here and accept myself, as in saying “that’s just the way I am…I can’t do anything about it…it’s just how it’s going to be from now on….” That’s not what He means at all. He’s telling me to accept this dark side of myself enough to hand it over to Him so He can pour His life into it and awaken the beauty and light that’s beyond it. If indeed I look myself square in the eye, truly accept who I am right now, and then surrender myself at the throne of Christ, I’ll be transformed. This cocoon of negativity I’ve found myself in will be opened and I will emerge with the beauty of the Son on my wings (Isaiah 61:3).

 Do you need to accept yourself?

Father God, thank You for meeting us right where we’re at and for gently prompting us to accept ourselves so You can transform us. Amen.