Hi! I'm new on this forum, a 30+ year old Christian woman from Europe.
I became a believer in Jesus five years ago, and throughout these years I've had so much joy in faith; I've had some serious hardships, but God has pulled me through. God has given me strength and joy. It' been miraculous.
But now it's time for me to grow in a certain matter. I've always concentrated too much on what other people think of me. I haven't been self-assured and secure of myself. In a way, it has an effect on my faith, too. This is embarrassing to talk about, but I'll give you an example:
Sometimes when I think about how greatful I am for the things that God has done for me, I kind of imagine myself telling about it to other people (people I know who are mostly not Christians), and I imagine how they react with awe. It's like in my imagination it becomes more about me than God.
Well, that was just a one example of concentrating too much on what other people think about me. I understand that this problem originates in my problems with self-confidence: I want to feel accepted and even admired by other people, and I honestly think that my faith in Jesus is my "best asset", so I keep on imagining myself admired for my strong faith and how humble a Christian I am (I know, how ironic..lol).
The Bible says in Galatians 6 that we are allowed to boast about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to get rid of boasting about myself in these stupid "fantasies" and boast about Jesus, but the problem is that I have been fantasising like this for such a long time that it has become like really bad habit. How to break this?
I'd be thankful for any thoughts, advices
I became a believer in Jesus five years ago, and throughout these years I've had so much joy in faith; I've had some serious hardships, but God has pulled me through. God has given me strength and joy. It' been miraculous.
But now it's time for me to grow in a certain matter. I've always concentrated too much on what other people think of me. I haven't been self-assured and secure of myself. In a way, it has an effect on my faith, too. This is embarrassing to talk about, but I'll give you an example:
Sometimes when I think about how greatful I am for the things that God has done for me, I kind of imagine myself telling about it to other people (people I know who are mostly not Christians), and I imagine how they react with awe. It's like in my imagination it becomes more about me than God.
Well, that was just a one example of concentrating too much on what other people think about me. I understand that this problem originates in my problems with self-confidence: I want to feel accepted and even admired by other people, and I honestly think that my faith in Jesus is my "best asset", so I keep on imagining myself admired for my strong faith and how humble a Christian I am (I know, how ironic..lol).
The Bible says in Galatians 6 that we are allowed to boast about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to get rid of boasting about myself in these stupid "fantasies" and boast about Jesus, but the problem is that I have been fantasising like this for such a long time that it has become like really bad habit. How to break this?
I'd be thankful for any thoughts, advices