Hope Road

Hey girl, I’ve been reading your blog but I haven’t make myself known to you.

I just want to say I have the same trouble, too. Being a girl who has a BMI index that says I am “obese”, I care alot about what people who think of me.

I think to truly know our identity in Him is a very importing thing to know deep down in our hearts. It may take a lifetime to learn but I believe once we can finally understand that our lives will be completely different. Instead of fearing anything else, we would only fear God.

Stay close to the Rock, girl. You’re on the right track as you continue to submit yourself to Him.

I’ve felt the way you feel for a long time, and I’m just beginning to overcome it. I’m looking around for the list of Bible verses my grandmother wrote down for me when I told her about it; they were a great help.

You don’t need to be afraid of me :). There’s no way I would ever judge your writing. But I know what you mean about the problem of excess pride. Just remember that you are God’s, and he will love you no matter if you stumble or walk straight, no matter who misinterprets your blog.

I’ve felt the same thing at many times…we all want to be appreciated, to be liked, to be “cool”—but at what cost? I was particularly struck by this when I was at a large mall this weekend looking at clothes and began thinking, “Why do I want to look like this? Who am I trying to impress? Is God going to like me better because of the brand I wear?”. The simple reality that I have nothing with which to recommend myself to God and that He chose me for His purposes solves, intellectually at least, all of these concerns. If I am really seeking to please Him alone, all of the rest of you mortals shouldn’t matter. :-).

Anna, I can relate so much with what you write here. I also struggle a lot with fear - especially fear of what people think of me. And as you say, the root of this fear is really pride - which I know certainly exists in me!

Thank you for being so honest and sharing this. I believe ‘When People Are Big and God Is Small’ by Ed Welch will be a great book for us both. I’d love to read it sometime! Hopefully will do soon.

The problem with fear is that it is only truly overcome by confronting it and going through with whatever we are so afraid of. It is so very painful, but honestly speaking from experience, it is the only way to go. Ask God to lead you through the valley of darkness, tightly holding your hand, so that you can come around the other side having overcome a little bit more fear. I will pray for you! May God help you with this, and myself too. Blessings to you

I both understand and empathize with what you are feeling about looking like you’ve got it together, but feeling everything but on the inside.
I let this kind of thinking go too far, for far too many years and it caused me great trouble. I was diagnosed with panic disorder and now live with it everyday of my life.
There is a way out. It gets worse before it gets better, but trust me, you cannot live in fear. Going through what I did, I understand that life is about quality and not quantity….and living in fear is not a quality way to exist.
I know you have no idea who I am, but if you’d ever like to speak about this, I would be more than happy to do so.