Lately I’ve been delving into one of my side interests—psychology.
(When I was finishing college and trying to decide what to do next, I was accepted
for the Masters in Counseling program at Denver Seminary before I decided to go
to Wheaton instead. God had different plans for me.) I’ve been watching a
number of videos from Steve Cuss on CapableLife.com, including some about our
inner critics. I don’t know about you, but I have a loud inner critic. He tells
me often that I’m not good enough, not smart enough, and that I better keep my
mouth shut so other people don’t find out I’m an imposter and I don’t belong
here. (Even now I’m arguing with the voice that’s telling me “Real writers don’t
wait a month between blog posts!”)
Steve wisely points out that we need to compare the voice of
our inner critic with the truth of God’s Word in order to ignore the lies. Mark
Batterson puts it well in A Million
Little Miracles:
Shame says, “I am a mistake.”
God says, “You are My workmanship.”
Shame says, “I am unworthy.”
God says “You are worth the cross.”
Shame says, “I am not enough.”
God says, “You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”
Shame says, “I am an accident.”
God says, “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Shame says, “I am unlovable.”
God says, “You are My beloved.”
Shame says, “I am insignificant.”
God says, “You are the apple of My eye.” (184)
The inner critic, judge, shame—whatever name you want to
call the enemy of our soul—tries to convince us that God wants nothing to do
with us unless we can achieve perfection on our own, which is a futile effort.
Paul reminds us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.” We don’t make ourselves acceptable. God first
chose us, loved us, redeemed us, and adopted us into His family, all long
before we even thought of how we might perform to try to win His approval.
I should note as well that God’s opinion of us should matter
far more than the opinions of man, but we can often be sidelined by the fear of
what others think. We all want to be loved and accepted, but every one of us
has different standards, so pleasing everyone is doomed from the start. But our
Creator gives us far more grace than we can even begin to imagine.
Steve Cuss asks a question that I’ve been thinking about a
lot. “What if I were at least as ___ to myself as God is?” What would be
different if I were as gracious, loving, and forgiving of myself as God is? I
have no doubt the result would be less anxiety and more joy. I may not get there
very quickly, and my inner critic is not likely to quit work, but he doesn’t
have to have the final word.
“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and
reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is
greater than our heart, and He knows everything” (1 John 3:19-20).
© 2025 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.
