Like I said, it’s been over a year ago that that happened. Yes, I’ve continued attending church and leading in the youth ministry because I knew deep down inside that I was under attack by the enemy. I knew God didn’t leave me; I left Him in a sense. He was always there, just waiting for me to approach him.

And I did and have been and He is always faithful to respond. I had to get back into the Word on a DAILY basis and I had to start seeking Him diligently in prayer. God will never force himself on us; he is always a gentleman. But, if we seek Him, we will find Him. (Matt. 7:7-12)

So, if you’ve found yourself lacking faith for whatever reason, take a look at yourself – are you spending time alone with God? Are you seeking Him out by reading his Word? If not, then start today and continue to do so. He is faithful and He will answer.

Just like a relationship with a human, a relationship can only exist if there is communication and by knowing the other person. We come to know God and His will for our lives by communicating with him daily through prayer and reading his Word.

So, I want to encourage each of you who reads this: seek God, seek Him out and you will find Him. If you don’t have a bible or would like to read online, Christianity.com is a great on-line resource. They have bible studies, devotions and even the entire bible, right online. I receive daily devotions in my email from them which has greatly helped me to get back in the Word and prayer.

Of course there are times when you just need to get away from the Internet, away from the distractions of this world and just get alone with God. Whether it’s in your “prayer closet” or in your living room or bedroom, don’t forsake getting alone with your Creator-the One who knows you better than any human being on this earth.

God Loves YOU!

Overcoming Lack of Faith is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace

This message was part of his sermon series called “Junk in your Trunk” and unforgiveness is certainly junk in your trunk. When you hold onto unforgiveness, the only person you’re hurting is yourself. God’s word says in Matt. 5:23 to reconcile any differences with a brother before going to God at the altar. This shows us that we need to take care of any issues we may have with someone, before we go to God.

Illness, disease and pain have often been traced back to unforgiveness against someone. When you hold onto unforgiveness, it eats away at your soul, but does nothing to the person you refuse to forgive. Maybe you have experienced this at one time or another. Perhaps someone did something so horrible to you that you couldn’t forgive them for a long time and every time you thought of that person or thought of what they did to you, you felt hatred or anger boiling up inside you. But, once you decided to forgive them, the bad thoughts and anger went away. Maybe you even had a recurring illness, but since forgiving them, you haven’t experienced that illness. That’s because the unforgiveness was hurting you, not them. Most of the time the person you are not forgiving doesn’t feel a thing or isn’t even aware of how you feel.

There is a spiritual root connected to unforgiveness and illness or disease. If you are holding on to unforgiveness, check your heart, pray about how you can forgive that person, and do it immediately. All it takes is a few simple words. Tell your brother (the other person) that you have certain feelings against them, and you need to ask their forgiveness. However, don’t place blame. This is not the time to rehash the incident or issue that caused the ill feelings. Simply let them know how you were feeling, and now you are forgiving them and asking them to forgive you. You’ll be amazed at the relief you will instantly feel.

If they are not accepting of your forgiveness, that is on their shoulders. You were obedient to God’s Word and now you can move on.

If the person you need to forgive is not around to speak to in person, simply forgive them in your heart. You can say a prayer to God, or simply say it in your head from your heart. Even if they have passed away, if you are still holding onto unforgiveness, forgiving them can be done.

Overcoming Unforgiveness is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace

Now that I am an adult, I have overcome many of my struggles with my self confidence, though some areas I’m still working on.

As a child, I was pretty shy and withdrawn because I didn’t want people to know what my step-dad was doing to me. I didn’t make friends easily, although I wanted to and didn’t feel shy inside. But, now, looking back, I can see the marks the sexual abuse left on me.

I also suffered a very poor self image. I always thought I was fat even though I when I graduated I only weighed 125 pounds which was a great weight for my height and stature. Friends also influenced the poor self image in me. My two best friends were thinner than I. One of them struggled to gain weight and the other worked out constantly and was very self conscious about her weight. If she gained 1 pound, she would be out running it off.

Lack of self confidence is not only an issue about how we look, but it also affects our speech, writing, how we present ourselves in social situations and other areas of life. So, how do we overcome a low self esteem or lack of self confidence?

I’m going to give you some of the tools I’ve used to help me over come my struggles with low self esteem and low self confidence.

The first one is God’s Word. The Scriptures are so full of God’s love for us and when we know how God views us and how much He loves us, we no longer need approval from humans. So start reading God’s Word daily and learn how he sees you. One amazing scripture to help you with this is the 139th Psalm. One of my daily devotions encourages women to read it everyday for a month and I want to encourage you to do the same. Doing this one simple act can really change the way you see yourself because you will begin to see yourself as God sees you.

The next tool is The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer. In The Confident Woman, Joyce teaches us how to overcome low self confidence by using God’s Word.

Captivating by Staci and John Eldredge. When we understand why we are the way we are as women, we can overcome low self esteem and start viewing ourselves differently.

Start journaling your feelings and begin praying for God to reveal to you how he knows you and sees you. You can overcome low self esteem and low self confidence by placing your confidence in God and trusting in His love for you. It won’t happen overnight though. It will take work and diligence and you will probably have to refresh what you’ve learned once in a while.

I will be praying for each of the readers of this post. If you’d like personal prayer for overcoming lack of self confidence please leave your name and email in the comments and I or the other awesome women here at Women by Grace will be in touch with you to pray with you.

Overcoming Lack of Self Confidence is a post from: Christian Women Blogging - Women By Grace