“Self-esteem” is comprised of two potentially lethal words: “self” and “esteem.” When these two words are placed innocently together with the olive branch of the hyphen between them, the battle begins in the soul of a woman—really in the soul of anyone!
As we begin to tackle multiple self-esteem issues, one thing is vital—you need to answer this question for yourself: “Who do you think you are?”
You must have a healthy and whole view of yourself. If you believe that you are a woman of value, significance and destiny, then that is how you will approach life. And you will treat others with value, importance and worth regardless of how they have treated you.
You will never be able to live beyond who you think you are. You will not break out of your own limitations unless you first break into who God says you are. In order to discover who we are as women and who we were created to become, we must go back to the beginning.
We must inspect the intentions and the creative genius of our Maker. We must discover what His assessment was of us at the exact moment in history that He created the very first woman.
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27).
It’s true: You are like God. You were created to “look” like, act like and talk like the God of the universe. You are His exact representation on planet Earth in these early days of the 21st century. He made you to be His consummate masterpiece.
Now, of course, you are not God Himself. However, He made you to be just like Him in every way imaginable! God created both male and female in His very own image. You have the DNA of God inside of you!
You weren’t created to be a reflection of past rejection, childhood abuse, marital mistreatment or emotional panic—you were created to reflect the character and nature of the God who is love incarnate. You have been given the remarkable opportunity to be the hands, feet and heart of Jesus to a world in pain.
“As he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).
You will never be able to live beyond who you think you are. If you can believe in your heart that God’s Word is always true and that what He has declared always embodies His well-thought-out plans, then you must, you simply must, begin to think about yourself the way He does.
When you submit your mind to the Word and the purpose of your Creator, it will impact the words you speak, the decisions you make and the company you keep. You must think about all that He says you are instead of all that you are not! {eoa}
Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical, biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written 11 books, including Significant, StormProof and Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Abby Trivett