by Charles Stanley
from www.intouch.org
all rights reserved
Do you feel good about yourself? The way you view yourself affects how you see God and how you react to the difficulties that come your way. Either your faults and failures will cause recurring pain and uneasiness, or peace and joy will characterize life because you feel secure in your relationship with the Father.
So how do you know whether you have a healthy or damaged view of yourself? One way to tell is by the words that flow through your mind and out of your mouth.
* In Matthew 12:34, where does Jesus say our words originate?
Remember, the Enemy targets your heart because that’s where he can do the most damage to you and to the kingdom of God. When your heart is scarred, there are certain messages that will continually play within you:
* I can’t do anything right.
* I’m a failure.
* I’m an ugly loser.
* I never get any recognition.
* I can’t see anything good about myself.
* I don’t deserve good things.
* I don’t belong.
* I’m a worthless nobody.
Do these words sound familiar? Such messages have a terrible effect on every area of your life.
* They make it difficult to develop good relationships because they keep you suspicious of others’ intentions. What’s more, they can cause you to isolate yourself for fear of rejection.
* They also hurt your professional life. You’ll have trouble making decisions and will be too afraid to take the appropriate, godly risks that could help you succeed.
* Additionally, they impact spiritual health by hindering intimacy with God. You will either consciously or subconsciously blame the Lord for creating you with the weaknesses you see within yourself. This produces distrust in your relationship with Him, which can cause you to limit His work in your life. This has the terrible consequence of preventing you from becoming everything you can be, as you push away the One who can make you truly secure.
These messages keep you feeling lonely, isolated, and unworthy. The only way to heal from their poison is to do exactly what you don’t want to do—stop clinging to them, and bring them out into the open, where you can see them for the lies they are.
Insecurity is a difficult thing to admit, because it involves confirming your worst fears about yourself. But by acknowledging to the Father that you entertain these thoughts, you open yourself to His loving care.
* Write out Ephesians 4:29.
In the verse above, Paul isn’t merely telling you not to curse, although that’s definitely part of it. The objectionable words he speaks of here are the rotten ones that reveal the ugliness in you. In fact, the term he uses for unwholesome can also mean putrefied. These are the feelings about yourself that are continually wounding and corrupting you.
Application:
By allowing messages like “I can’t do anything right” and “I’m a worthless nobody” to torment you, you’re not only hurting yourself; you’re also sinning against God. You must change the thoughts you think and allow the Lord to transform your mind and heart (Rom. 12:2). Open His Word, and let Him teach you the truth about your life. Embrace principles such as:
* I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (see Philippians 4:13).
* My success comes from trusting God (see Proverbs 16:3).
* I am God’s beloved child (see Ephesians 5:1).
* I am eternally secure in Jesus Christ (see John 10:28-29).
* I am wonderfully made (see Psalm 139:14).
* God gives me good gifts out of His unconditional love for me (see James 1:17).
* I belong to God’s family and I am a co-heir with Christ (see Romans 8:17).
* Christ died for me so I will live for Him (see 2 Timothy 1:8-10).
God’s messages of love have the power to counteract harmful words that have been plaguing you. They can also help you have the confidence you need to face anything that comes along.
Spend the rest of your study time reading and meditating on Psalm 139.
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