#31 - Rediscovering Your Worth in Times of Self-Doubt

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I'm Dr. Cory Potter, and this is Mind and Faith

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Matters. Today on the podcast, I want to talk

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about something that I think many people may

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have some misconceptions about or may struggle

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with even as believers. I'm talking about self

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-worth, self -esteem, and issues of self -doubt.

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According to Drs. Tim Clinton, and run Hawkins,

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self -esteem refers to an inner sense of worthiness

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that gives a person resilience and resistance

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to attack or a criticism. So generally speaking

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this means that each person has a concept about

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their own self -worth which really may or may

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not be accurate and self -esteem is how the person

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feels about or evaluates their self -worth. Having

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healthy self -esteem as a believer does not mean

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that you have too much pride or you're too proudful

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or that you have this overblown sense of importance.

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But the opposite that I want to talk about today,

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low self -esteem can lead to self -hate really

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and feelings of unworthiness. the inability to

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accept your own uniqueness and even a rejection

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of what God intends for you as a person to be.

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So low self -esteem and self -worth influence

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how we think, how we feel and act and often they

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keep us from living with the steady confidence

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that God intends for us to have. Psychology shows

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that self -doubt affecting self -esteem often

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grows from prolonged criticism, constant negative

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feedback, perfectionism and even comparing ourselves

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to others. Low self -esteem affects how we value

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ourselves and how we interpret our worth in relationships,

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at work and even in our faith. When someone experiences

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rejection or failure the brain tends to hold

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on to those moments more than affirming experiences

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interestingly enough and over time this can create

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a story inside of us that says I'm not enough

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and That story can shape our decisions or lack

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of decisions limit our courage and narrow what

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we believe is possible for us to accomplish I

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Want you to take a moment and think about this

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What stories from your past might be shaping

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how you see yourself today? And I want to take

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it a step further. Self -doubt can lead to fear.

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The fear of failure or of not being capable or

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disappointing God. And it can prevent us from

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taking a step forward in whatever we're trying

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to do or be. The mind can overanalyze and anticipate

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rejection or embarrassment, and the result oftentimes

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is inaction. And in the counseling room, this

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is sometimes called avoidance behavior or avoidant

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behavior. A person may avoid opportunities or

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relationships, not because they lack ability,

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but because they fear confirming inner beliefs

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of inadequacy and they don't want that. Spiritually

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that fear can make it difficult to trust God

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fully and the Bible speaks clearly about fear

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and doubt. In Deuteronomy for example chapter

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31 verse 6 the Bible says be strong and courageous.

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Do not be afraid or terrified because of them

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for the Lord your God goes with you. Joshua 1

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9 reminds us be strong and courageous do not

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be afraid do not be discouraged for the Lord

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your God will be with you wherever you go so

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these passages reassure us that courage comes

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from knowing God is present think about this

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what is one area of your life where you need

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to be strong and courageous So our sense of worth

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begins early in life As I said criticism comparison

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or neglect can influence how we see ourselves

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and Old voices of judgment that may no longer

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be in our life can continue to echo long after

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Whether it's childhood or earlier in your adult

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life experiences of failure rejection reinforce

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these beliefs and we may protect ourselves from

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disappointment instead of trusting the growth

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that is possible or that even has occurred. Spiritually,

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this is where the enemy works hardest. Scripture

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calls Satan the accuser and those quiet accusations

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can sound like our own thoughts. His goal is

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to make us doubt what God says about us and to

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silence the confidence that comes from God. I

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want you to ask yourself, whose voice have you

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been listening to the most lately? The critic

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or the creator? Now remember, low self -esteem

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is a persistent sense that your value or worth

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is limited. Psychology describes it as a distorted

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self -image that filters successes through feelings

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of inadequacy. Spiritually, it is forgetting

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that your value was established when Christ gave

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his life for you. Low self -esteem can appear

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in many ways or show up as over -apologizing

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in our lives. avoiding responsibility, avoiding

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confrontation, and constantly seeking approval

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even from places that we won't get it. And it

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can also lead to exhaustion because when you

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feel you're not enough, you continue to strive

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to prove your worth. And both faith and psychology

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teach that healing begins when we replace lies

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with truth. So rebuilding healthy self -esteem

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requires intentional daily or consistent practice.

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It may require some personal work with a qualified

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therapist who can help Christians and others

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really who have a damaged or painful sense of

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their worth. But for Christians, this therapy

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can help them to find God's perspective on their

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worth or significance. So I want to talk about

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some goals of therapy that you might want to

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consider when we combine psychology and faith.

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One of the first goals is to correct these false

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beliefs. And there's ways that a counselor can

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help. First, They're going to help you to name

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the negative thoughts. When self -doubt or low

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self -esteem appears in thoughts, you want to

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write it down. Seeing it on paper makes it easier

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to evaluate. And ask yourself, is this true?

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And is this what God says about me? And likely

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it's not. So you want to replace that. with truth

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and so for every negative thought you can learn

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to write a counter statement that's rooted in

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Scripture or fact. For example, I will fail can

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become I can take the next step because God goes

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with me as we said in Deuteronomy 31 verse 6.

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Next in therapy working on your self -esteem,

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you can learn to develop an accurate assessment

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of your strengths, your gifts, like your giftings

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as a person, your talents, your significance,

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and your potential, as well as developing an

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assessment of what your weaknesses really are,

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because we do have weaknesses, and that's okay.

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So, a next... goal would be to find ways to get

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over these distortions. I would also say a goal

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would be to find healing from these deep relational

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wounds. We can't carry them on with us. So many

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times the potential of a healthy relationship

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in the future or present is halted by these deep

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relational wounds from our past. And God can

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help us to forgive and find that deep healing.

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Another goal would be to adapt your perspective

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on your own self -worth by reading God's Word

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to find God's perspective. And this happens through

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studying scripture, reflecting on it after you

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just read it and letting it shape your self -talk

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that you're now paying attention to and writing

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down and challenging those negative thoughts.

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You can use scripture verses like Philippians

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4 .13 or Joshua 1 .9 as examples that remind

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you of your capability and God's presence with

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you. Another goal of therapy would be to seek

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supportive and healthy relationships. We want

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to spend time with people who encourage our growth,

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honesty, and faith. And we want to choose relationships

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that remind us of our worth in God's eyes rather

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than those that reinforce self -doubt. As you

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apply these goals and work through self -doubt

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and low self -esteem, and even self -worth in

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therapy, you want to keep in mind that growth

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is gradual. And when you reflect on scripture,

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prayer, and the other things that you're doing,

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it can only take root through consistent action.

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And so you want to ask yourself, What step of

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faith is waiting on my courage right now? What

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do I need to do next? And if self -doubt or low

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self -esteem has been holding you back, remember

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your self -worth and strength are secure in Christ

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and scriptures will give us a clear picture of

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our worth in God's eyes. So, I want to finish

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up today with some Bible verses that remind us

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of what God wants of us related to this topic.

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First, God wants you to see yourself through

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His eyes as an image bearer with infinite worth.

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In Genesis, God said, or the Bible says, so God

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created mankind in His own image. in the image

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of God he created them male and female he created

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them God saw all that he made and it was very

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good that's Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 and 27

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and verse 31 next I want you to know that God

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wants you to see yourself through his eyes as

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precious and honored in his sight and this comes

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from Isaiah chapter 43 verse 4 Where the Bible

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says you are precious and honored in my sight

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God wants you to see yourself through his eyes

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as his beloved child too and 1st John chapter

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3 verse 1 See what great love the father has

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lavished upon us that we should be called children

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of God and that is what we are and God wants

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you to know that you are fully accepted in Christ

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But it's not due to your performance or what

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you've proven, but due to His grace. In Ephesians

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chapter 1 verse 6, the Bible says He made us

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accepted in the Beloved. He's not condemning

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you. So in Psalm 94 verse 14, the Bible says

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the Lord will not reject His people. He will

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not abandon His special possession. Next, I think

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it's important to know that God understands the

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pain of being devalued and held in low self -esteem.

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So the all -knowing God understands because he

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sees people reject him every day. But Isaiah

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53 verse 3 in particular says, He, Jesus, was

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despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering

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and familiar with pain. like one from whom people

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hide their faces. He was despised and we held

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him in low self -esteem. But I also want you

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to know the Bible says God offers healing from

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past pain, guilt, and shame. Psalm 30 verse 2

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says, We can call on God when we're weary, when

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we feel any certain way about ourselves. And

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the Bible says that God wants you to forgive

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those who hurt you and led you to feel worthless

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in the first place. That, in therapy, can take

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a lot of work. Colossians chapter 3 verse 13

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says, if any of you has a grievance against someone.

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Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Next I want

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you to know that God wants you to encourage others

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who do have low self -esteem. In Ephesians chapter

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4 verse 29 the Bible says let everything you

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say be good and helpful so that your words will

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be an encouragement to those who hear them. Next

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I'll say that God wants you to look to him and

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his word to find your true worth as I mentioned

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in the goals of therapy Psalm 119 verse 114 says

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you are my refuge and my shield Your word is

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my source of hope So today I want you to think

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through these scriptures and hopefully you can

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have the ability to go back and listen to them

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again and look them up for yourself and highlight

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them or maybe put them on some cards or in a

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journal so that you can see what God says and

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what God wants from you. I know that one episode

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of my podcast is not going to change everything

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for you but I also want you to know that I'm

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thankful that you're here at Mind and Faith Matters

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and if this episode has encouraged you I want

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you to share it with someone who might need the

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reminder that their worth and strength come from

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God. And he's so interested in us knowing who

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he is and how he views us. So until next time,

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I want you to take care of your mind and your

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faith. God bless and have a great day.