God has already given us peace of mind, but some of us are yet to experience it, because they continue to feed the wrong words to their subconscious mind. -Edmond Mbiaka
How many times do we beat ourselves up over things? We make a mistake, have an awkward encounter, or find ourselves in a stressful situation, and the first thing we want to do is bad-mouth ourselves. "That was so stupid! How could I be such an idiot?" In counseling, they call that negative self-talk. Over time, continual negative self-talk skews our perception of reality. Satan would love for us to believe that we are not worthy and stay focused on our faults. But God tells us that we are His beloved children! We are created in HIS image. No, we will never be perfect, but that is ok because He has redeemed us through the blood of Christ! God wants us to recognize our mistakes and work to do better next time, but He never told us to punish ourselves with our thoughts. That is not of God! If you are guilty of negative self-talk, take time this week to pay attention to the negative messages that are on repeat in your mind. Write each one down, and then recognize it as a false thought. Then write down a truth from God to replace that thought! You can use scriptures, or just simple phrases. For example, if one of yourregular thoughts is "I am so stupid!" you can replace that lie with "I made a mistake, but I am still God's child." If you think to yourself, "I will never measure up," you can replace that lie with "God has a purpose for my life, and I am worthy in His sight." This is what therapists call "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy." It's so important to stay focused on God's truth and love and not on these lies we tell ourselves. I hope this exercise helps you this week!
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1
Journey on!