You Are Perfectly Made

I want you to take a minute today to meditate on the following biblical truths:

You are God’s unique creation. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them(Ephesians 2:10). For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well (Psalm 139:13-14)

God knows you. O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me… (Psalm 139:1-24).

And knowing you fully, God loves you fully. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

If you’ve been a Christian for a while, you’ve heard these things before, probably lots of times. But do you believe them? I mean really believe them? I ask because it’s important, and because I think a lot of women doubt these truths more than they realize. That doubt eats away at their confidence and saps their strength.

Dove put out a great video a few months ago where they showed women describing themselves to a sketch artist who couldn’t see them. The artist drew one picture based on their description of themselves, then he drew a second picture based on a description provided by someone else. When the two sketches were revealed side by side, you could see dramatically how the women’s descriptions of themselves had emphasized all of their faults and insecurities. This experiment obviously focused on physical appearance, but I think that this tendency for women to be negative about ourselves goes much deeper. In our deepest darkest moments women don’t just doubt that we are loved, we doubt that we are lovable.

My friend Betsy told me about  a song she’s heard played at some of her church’s mother-daughter events, its called, “Who Says?” and its sung by Selena Gomez.  It’s just a kind of sweet, frothy pop song, but it’s meant to encourage girls (and women too) to recognize their inner beauty. The chorus goes,

Who says, who says you’re not perfect
Who says you’re not worth it
Who says you’re the only one that’s hurting
Trust me that’s the price of beauty
Who says you’re not pretty
Who says you’re not beautiful, who says?

I like this song, but I have to disagree with Ms. Gomez on one point. The truth is, none of us are perfect. But we are perfectly made. And that’s a truth we all need to embrace.

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Diane Paddison has held several executive positions for corporations, including Chief Operating Officer for two Fortune 500 companies, Trammell Crow (now CB Richard Ellis) and ProLogis. She is currently the Chief Strategy Officer at the commercial real estate firm Cassidy Turley, and the founder of 4WordWomen, a national nonprofit designed to connect, lead and support young professional Christian women to fulfill their God-given potential.

Click here to learn more about Diane Paddison