Dear Grace: I feel hideous, why did God make me this way?
Dear Grace,
How do I not be discouraged about my acne? I feel so hideous & it really makes me question my value & why God made me this way.
— Mariah
Mariah,
My heart broke when I read your question, because truly… I remember feeling the same way.
It was only after my skin began to clear that I started to meditate on truth, and it’s why I speak so boldly about this now. When we are in the middle of a trial with acne, we are so vulnerable, and often feel hopeless. And while these emotions make sense on the surface, they aren’t rooted in theological truth. We need to meditate on truth during our acne trial because there is hope, and it starts with knowing the truth.
I am so thankful you reached out, and I pray that hearing God’s word in the midst of your skin struggle would draw you into the arms of your savior and creator.
As I pull apart your question, I see that it is really two-fold.
1) How do I not feel discouraged about my acne?
And 2) “I feel hideous, and am questioning my value before God.”
Let’s start with #2.
What is your value before God?
As someone who has struggled with acne and the insecurity that comes with it, I’ve often had to confront where I find my value.
Our culture tells women what we should look like, how we should act, and what makes us valuable. But value actually doesn’t come from any of these things. What makes us valuable is directly clarified in God’s Word.
“So God created man in his own image... male and female he created them.” — Genesis 1:27
Your value isn’t earned through external beauty, marital status, another person’s approval, or the clarity of your skin.
It begins with the God who created you.
Right at the very beginning in Genesis 1, we see that humanity was created in the Imago Dei— the image of God. This is a unique connection between humanity (that includes YOU!) and God, that is different from all of creation.
Being created in the image of God comes along with all sorts of beautiful attributes. God gave us an inward self with emotions, desires, work ethic, and more. He also gave us a physical body, just as we see in Jesus— the second person of the trinity.
Not only were we made in the image of God, but we were also created to live like Him!
Our identity as bearers of the Imago Dei is sandwiched between two nearly identical decrees concerning humanity’s purpose.
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
— Genesis 1:26, 28
We were created to serve as God’s rulers over the Earth.
In our individual lives, what we have to steward looks different from person to person. Whether that be your bedroom, a home, friendships, marriage, a plant, a garden, your body, your skin… we are called to subdue and have dominion over the responsibilities God has entrusted to us.
With acne in the picture, perhaps God is calling you to pursue healing by stewarding your body well. Or, He may be calling you to navigate your heart through this trial, and to take your focus off of self. Perhaps he’s even calling you to minister to your own soul through His word & prayer, and one day you can use this to minister to others. Or maybe, it’s all of the above!
Your acne doesn’t change one ounce of your value before God. But it may change the direction He is leading you to serve.
Your value comes from God, who God made you.
Take it from King David, a man after God’s own heart!
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
Psalm 139:13-14
This frequently quoted excerpt from Psalm 139 demonstrates David’s knowingness that it was YAHWEH, our God, who created Him from the very beginning at conception.
We trust that God is a good, intentional God, who doesn’t make mistakes.
He creates us wonderfully— WONDERFUL are your works, says David! His soul knows it well, because His soul knows truth.
David knew truth because he searched for it. He studied it. And this knowing of truth ministered to him when he was at his lowest.
When we are questioning our own value before God, we have the ability to go to God’s word, the ultimate source of truth, and see firsthand that our value is not a thing to be questioned.
God never questioned your existence, but knit you together in your mother’s womb. Fearfully & wonderfully made!!! You have purpose, identity, and a calling in Christ.
And as if this wasn’t clear enough, there is SO much more where that came from!
Scripture teaches us the depths of God’s love and purpose for us. And where do we see it the most clearly?
In the gospel.
But[ ]God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,[ ]even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,[ ]so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. — Ephesians 2:4-8
God loved us so much, that despite our sinfulness and shortcomings, He made us alive together in Christ.
He sent His son, Jesus, to live a perfect life on our behalf. He was then sacrificed on a cross, taking the penalty for our sins in full. Through this, we have been declared righteous and reconciled to God.
And on the third day, He rose again! Defeating sin and death, and guaranteeing us a future hope in the New Kingdom as heirs with Christ.
Would God have done this if we were not valuable?
Would He have sacrificed His only son, to make a way for us to receive these eternal blessings and standing with Him?
Sister, YOU have absolutely nothing to question.
Our skin does not determine our value.
You don’t need to “feel” hideous, because you know truth. God doesn’t see your skin when He looks upon you. He sees the righteousness of Christ, a woman made in God’s image, who has been put here on this Earth right now to endure trials and serve as God’s holy one. And those who are in Christ will see you this way, too.
(Pause, and sit with that for a moment).
Sister, I pray that these truths would encourage you this week— but God’s Word has even more to say to help bring you out of your discouragement! I’ll return next week to directly answer question #1… “How do I not feel discouraged about my acne?”
I’ll link it here when it’s live!
— Grace
Have a question about living set apart as a Christian woman? Submit it here for a chance to have it answered in an upcoming Dear Grace article.
Whether your question is about faith, acne, relationships, wellness, purpose, navigating culture, or anything else, I’d love to hear from you.
You can stay anonymous if you’d like. Not every question will be answered publicly, but every submission is read prayerfully 🤍
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