9 'Unacceptable' Things About You

That God Wants You to Accept Anyway!

This article on self acceptance is an introduction to 'Matters of the Heart,' our free eCourse for spiritual growth and emotional transformation.

Let Jesus Leading the Way

Aren't you glad that God loves and accepts you just as you are? God has reconciled Himself completely to us. He is not even holding our sins against us! This is the essence of the 'good news.' Yet many of us hold all kinds of things against ourselves. Stop hating yourself! Learn to accept yourself despite these 9 'unacceptable' things about you that typically plague everyone in one way or another.

1) Past Hurtful Events

Most of us have had stuff happen that we wish we hadn't been there to experience! Why not do what God does? He sees the evil, hates it, shares in our pain, and then goes to work planning how He can make it work for our good. Accept that it happened, give it to God and let Him redeem it! Your inner peace will come flooding back to you.

2) Imperfect Knowledge.

Don't you hate it when people ridicule you for lacking knowledge? The truth is that all of us are vastly ignorant of what can be known on the human level, much less the things of God. Let pride take the hit on this and let go of trying to 'know it all.' See yourself as a learner for all of eternity! The One teaching you is the greatest, most patient Teacher in the universe.

3) Family of Origin.

Your family may have been dysfunctional, but it's too late to do anything about it, right? That just might be where you are wrong! God chose our family members and our ethnic heritage for entirely good reasons. There are blessings in our family line He wants us to inherit and there are unique ways we have been fashioned by it to impact the world around us.

4) Weakness.

Typically we hate our weakness and love our strengths. Let your perspective radically shift. It wasn't your strengths that brought you to faith in Christ and it won't be your strengths that grow you. We learn to draw strength from our God because of our weaknesses! They are divine 'guides' that lead us back to Christ and teach us to depend upon Him.

5) Wrong Choices.

None of us really want to make wrong choices, but hating that aspect of ourselves is itself a wrong choice! God apparently accepts it that we are prone to error and that we will continually be in need of His help. Fortunately for us He loves to come to our rescue. He never reproaches us for failures, but is ever willing to help us learn and grow!

6) Present Limitations.

Suppose Joni Eareckson Tada had turned against her life and her God due to the terrible fact of her paralysis? She says she can't imagine how she could ever have ministered to the millions her life has touched--had she not been 'confined' within such limits. God may remove the limitations we face, but we need to learn to look to Him with expectant faith knowing that there is no present limitation He cannot work around or work through in the meantime.

7) Your 'Personality' Problems.

Did you ever play with Chinese handcuffs? The harder you try to get free the more firmly you feel them gripping you. Issues in our personality are like that. Try hard to be patient and you will quickly discover how impatient you really are! God's grace works best as we cast the weight of what needs to change on the Lord and then remain willing to take any steps He may show us.

8) Your Fallen Nature.

Many Christians fear their fallen nature and hate it that they have one. Not so with our God! God completely accepts that it is there and is in no hurry to remove it. It won't come off until we die! He is simply asking us not to dress up in it and walk in it, but to 'put on' Christ and walk in His Spirit instead.

9) Your Physical Appearance.

Whose eyes are your eyes on? Yourself? Sounds like vanity. How you look to others? Sounds like hard work. Keep your eyes on the Lord. He says that He sees a beauty He desires when He looks at you--you have captivated His heart! He wants you forever by His side. The funny thing is that whenever we let Him captivate our heart our countenance becomes radiant with a beauty Maybelline can't touch!

Because of what Jesus suffered at the cross our Father completely accepts us just as we are. Choose to accept every 'unacceptable' thing about yourself and watch your life in Christ begin to blossom. Self acceptance is the gateway to emotional healing and a high flying life in the Spirit!

Don't resist the grace that is offered you!

Interested in Going Deeper?

Consider taking our free eCourse for Healing. We have designed a complete series for personal transformation, 'Matters of the Heart,' to help Christians gain emotional freedom and inner healing. In all there are 24 Main Healing Lessons and 24 Head to Heart Guides to help you bring your heart to God and receive His Great Heart for you in return!