“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” Does that sound familiar? If so, you have probably seen one of the several Disney versions of the story, Snow White. You may recall that Snow White’s vain step mother would ask the mirror to confirm her beauty and it would answer her back. Did you know that the mirror in Snow White, was actually based on a real talking mirror?
In the 1700’s, countess Maria Sophia von Erthal received a talking mirror as a gift from her husband. Yes, the mirror really did talk! “It was a trick mirror that reverberated back the voice of the person who spoke into it. This seems like pretty advanced technology for back in the 1700’s, but it is very real. As you might imagine, The Countess could look in the mirror, and say, “You look beautiful today”, and the mirror would echo it back.”1 Would you like to see this mirror? If you take a trip to Lohr am Main, Bavaria, Germany, you can see it in the Spessart Museum.
What does your mirror say to you?
That sounds like a crazy question, doesn’t it? But, hang on, it’s only crazy if you think I am asking if your mirror audibly speaks to you. Which of course, I am not. I mean, what are your thoughts as you look in a mirror?
What we believe about ourselves starts with all those thoughts that roll around in our heads. When we look in the mirror, what we believe about ourselves echoes back in our minds, (not in our ears).
Are the thoughts that you hear echoing back truth or are they lies?
Ummm, think about it.
Whatever we think about ourselves is truth to us, whether our thoughts are actual truth or lies.
Our truth influences what we say, how we act, how we expect to be treated and how we let people treat us.
How about those negative incidents or degrading words we hear over and over again? Unfortunately, when we hear the negative lies frequently, we often decide it must be true. But evil can take even a single incident or harsh word and turn it into a thought we believe. It replays the bad memory in our minds building on it with lies until it causes us to feel rejected, inadequate, unlovable, worthless or ugly. Those feelings run through our mind as we look in the mirror, which reflects back to us the lies we believe.
But there is another type of mirror besides the glass one, a false mirror.
What is a false mirror? Well, first of all there is no actual glass, only an empty mirror frame. In a false mirror, two people stand facing each other. As one person moves, the other mimics their actions so precisely that they appear to be a mirror reflection of one another. False mirrors are old movie and television routines used by Charlie Chaplin in The Floorwalker movie and the Marx brothers in Duck Soup. You will see what I mean if you check out the hilarious scene in the old I Love Lucy television show, season 4, episode 27. Lucy dresses like Harpo Marx in a wild blond wig, old top hat and tattered trench coat. Then she is surprised by Harpo Marx himself who mimics her every action. 2 Although false mirrors can be funny, they don’t reflect the truth.
Believing others opinions of ourselves is like standing in front of a false mirror as we mimic the negative opinions of the person facing us.
We act out the lies of who they say we are rather than speaking, acting and believing the truth of who God says we are. Those evil lies rob us of who God has created us to be.
Don’t get trapped by the lies. Don’t let the false mirror turn into the beliefs you see in the glass mirror. Drop that mirror and shatter the lies!
How do we combat those lies?
- Pray for God to reveal to you any lies you believe and to help you believe His truth.
- Compare your beliefs about yourself with God’s truth.
- Find scriptures to contradict any lies. As those lies pop up in your mind, refuse to dwell on them and focus on God’s truth instead. For example; I am not worthless, I am of value, Luke 12:7.
- Reprogram ourselves to love ourselves, accept ourselves and receive God’s love. Look in the mirror and say things like, “I love the emotions God gave me, I love the body God gave me, I love the person He created me to be.”
- Step out in faith and believe who God says you are.
- Reach out and help others to see how God sees them, with a smile, compliment, encouraging word, scriptures or more.
What does God see when you look in the mirror?
What are God’s truths about you?
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
You are beautiful and marvelous in your own way, because the almighty God has carefully woven you together!
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are your works; and that my soul knows very well.
Psalms 139:13-14
YOU ARE VALUABLE!
You are a treasured, cherished child to God. You are so valuable to God that He even knows the number of hairs on your head!
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered,
Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7
YOU ARE ACCEPTABLE!
God accepts you even if you feel no one else does.
To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6
YOU ARE LOVED!
God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you, even knowing you may never love Him.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. John 4:10 NIV
It takes faith to believe you are who God says you are.
It takes faith to believe that God made you for a purpose, (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
It takes faith to believe that God can even use all the lies you have believed for good, (Romans 8:28).
It takes faith to believe that God did not create a mistake when He created you, (Ephesians 2:10).
Our God is a compassionate God. He wants to hold you in His loving arms and heal the brokenness you have felt from the negative words and experiences you have had. He did not create you to be thrown away and treated like trash. He created you for good, to be loved and cherished. God wants to make you whole.
Don’t’ look in the mirror and see the lies.
Look in the mirror, smile, and see who God made you to be!
Remind yourself daily of who God made you to be by the truth from God’s scriptures. You may not be there yet, but have patience. With God’s help, you will get there.
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
REFLECTION
What do you see when you look in the mirror? What does God’s truth say about you that is different than what you think about yourself?
PRAYER
Select a verse describing how God sees you. Use that verse as you pray.
Heavenly Father, as I write (insert verse you selected), and say it aloud, please inscribe it on my heart. As I look in the mirror, help me to remember and in faith believe Your truth about me. In Jesus name, Amen.
IN FAITH BELIEVE YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE
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Thanks so much!
May your day be filled with love and laughter!
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1 Historycollection.com
2 Slate.com
Monkey photo by andre mouton, unsplash
Camel photo by chris curry, unsplash
Smile photo by vector images, pixabay
