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Self-Confidence vs. Confident Beauty

It never ceases to amaze me how many women feel they, or their daughters, are the only ones with Image Issues. It’s not just body image either, anytime we recognize a flaw, fault or weakness in ourselves our confidence may falter. There is only one woman who ever walked this Earth with absolute confidence, and that was quickly manipulated from her. Since then, every daughter of Eve has had to face a Beauty Battle at least once in her life.

Eve was confidently beautiful.

Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Adam and Eve had it made! Everything they needed was provided for them. Clothing was not necessary, because they had no climate to compete with, no need to impress anyone and most of all, no Image Issues! Any woman who can walk around stark naked is more than self-confident, she is confidently beautiful.

Self-confidence is not enough.

Genesis 3:3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Eve’s sudden love for fashion was birthed out of her need to hide her shame. A snake had convinced her that God was holding out on her and she fell for his twisted-Truth. Would she have been so easily deceived if she had complete confidence in herself? I think she would have.

It really doesn’t matter how good we feel about our beauty when it comes to confidence.

Some women may have the confidence to expose what the rest of us would rather have our wardrobe cover, but even that is not Confident Beauty if it is stressed and striving for attention. Confidence is not beautiful if is is based on its beauty.

Beauty is not enough.

Genesis 3:10, 11 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

Eve disobeyed God and immediately wanted to hide her beauty. Her sudden Confidence Conflict was not a body-image issue. It wasn’t a comparison trap. There was no super model in her face compelling her to change the way she looks. She had no brother mocking her for being small, or fat, weak or boyish. Eve’s Beauty Battle was all about her confidence in God. Or lack there of.

The snake was right. God did tell His first two humans to stay away from that tree. God was holding out on his daughter.

apple-1081105_640Is God holding out on you?

Genesis 3:4, 5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Eve had been created in the beautiful image of God. Her life with Adam in the Garden of Eden wasn’t just good–it was perfect in every way. The thing God held back from them was evil. By eating that fruit their eyes were opened alright, they were opened to the shame of failed self-confidence (better known as self-consciousness).

If Adam and Eve had put all their confidence in the One who gave them every good thing, if they had trusted that God’s law was for their good and that His heart toward them was to provide for, protect and enjoy them, then they would have remained in their perfect garden.

You can have perfection.

Revelation 21: 1-4 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

You (or your daughter) are not the only one who struggles with Image Issues. The only cure for the Beauty Battle is to tame our innate desire to regain a perfect world (and perfect bodies!).

Yes, God is holding out on us, and we now live in the evil and shame that His commandments were meant to protect us from, but the story is not over.

Our longing for perfection is a reflection of God’s and He has not given up on us or His plan. He has re-created a place of Confident Beauty for us in eternity. Until we reach that place, let us resist being manipulated by the enemy’s twisted-Truths and put our confidence in God instead of ourselves.

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Catrina Welch is an inspirational author and speaker whose passion is empowering women and girls to BE and LET BE. Her expertise as a cosmetologist, image consultant and Biblical life-coach, as well as her personal experiences with abandonment and grief make her message relatable to anyone dealing with rejection, betrayal or loss.

Her latest book, CONFIDENT BEAUTY: Reflecting the One Who Made You, with the Images in your Mirror and in your Soul, is now available as an audiobook. Autographed copies of all her books are available on her website at www.CatrinaWelch.com