I am not sure if you might be like me…at times it seems to be so difficult to keep thinking the TRUTH of what God says about myself. Do you struggle with this too? But, somehow by God’s grace, we muster up the fortitude and remind ourselves,
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,
and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5
When I recognize I am thinking these negative thoughts (lies), I try to remind myself, “I do not believe that! That lie <negative thought> must be obedient to Jesus Christ. God’s Word says ______ .” (And then I speak or read the TRUTH of God’s Word which pertains to that situation.)
We are in charge of what we think! We control the thoughts that we allow to live in our hearts! We determine to put the TRUTH into our hearts and minds! That is exactly what this verse reminds us to do!
Have you ever thought, or said, any of the following to yourself?
“I look _____ <fill in the blank> …no one could ever love me like this.”
The TRUTH is: I am beautiful in His sight!
I am fearfully and wonderfully made and beautiful in the eyes of the Lord.
Psalms 139:14
“I am not important…I have no value to anyone.”
The TRUTH is: I have great worth to God!
Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.
Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted.
Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!
Luke 12:7
“I can never forgive ____ for what they’ve done! They don’t deserve it.”
The TRUTH is: I have been forgiven of so much! Forgiveness has nothing to do with what is ‘deserved;’ it is all about trust and obedience to God.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others for their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Matthew 6:12, 14, 15
We all have thoughts that are lies; for some of us they are ocassional…for others of us we suffer under these thoughts. Sometimes they are long-buried words that others have spoken to us in our past. Sometimes they are strongholds that are in our hearts that we have not dealt with. Sometimes they are deceptions that the enemy of our souls speaks to us. It really isn’t too important where the lies/thoughts come from. What we do when we think those lies/thoughts is vitally important! We could dwell on those lies/thoughts, harboring them in our hearts and allowing them to fester and grow. NOT a good idea! Or instead we could recognize those lies/thoughts for what they are, and choose to refute the lie by replacing it with the Truth of God’s Word, and have peace and joy. A REALLY good idea!
Finally, <sisters>, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—
practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:8 and 9, paraphrase mine
This is one way to replace those lies/thoughts, “…think about these things.” These are the things that God wants us to fix our minds on! Just look at them: whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, of any excellence or worthy of praise…and when we do…we will have God’s peace. Isn’t that just what we SO desire? Yes? Amen.
Are there lies in your heart that you believe about yourself? Take a moment…write down two negatives thoughts, or lies, on a piece of paper. Now, compare them to the Truth; shed light—the Light of God’s Word on them. Find the Truth in the Scriptures about who He says you are. And write the Truth out on this same piece of paper.
Perhaps you are not quite sure how to go about this…try this: google ‘God says I am worthy’ Now, try putting a phrase that you want to know the Truth from God’s Word into the Google search engine. And, if you need help, come back here and let’s work together on it, ok? I would love to work through this with you! ♥
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Lord, we really want to believe with our whole hearts that ‘I AM what God says I am!’ In some areas of our lives, we regret that we believe lies. Please guide us to Your Truth, Lord; please help us to change the lie into Truth. We recognize our great need for Your help, Your guidance, Your healing, and Your deliverance. We know that with You…all things are possible! Thank You for helping us, Lord!!! We thank You for it and look forward to praising You for our deliverance! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Thank you, Coleen, for reminding us to compare what’s in our minds with the Truth of God’s Word. Whatever doesn’t match up needs to go! This was the take-away I got from the chapter, Our Best Mirror: “The ideal mirror is the mirror of God’s love and truth as He has revealed them in His Word…These truths help us cultivate a new self-image–and they NEVER change!” Philippians 4:8 and I John 3:1 would be good Scripture to memorize!
such good things to take away, clella! our new self-image has always been God’s image of us! <3
I so needed to read this, this morning! I find myself getting away from the truth God says about me from time to time.
michelle, i think we all find this happens from time to time…just another reason to stay connected and prayerfully encourage one another! <3
Oh I love this SO MUCH!!! AMEN< AMEN AND AMEN!!!!!
kim, i am praising our Faithful Father Who always is drawing us closer to Himself through His Word along with you! <3
Love 2 Corinthians 10:5 and it fits perfectly with our study! Thank you Coleen for reminding us that our negative thoughts set us up against God’s Word. So thankful we can choose to take those thoughts captive, hold them up to God’s truth & demolish them as lies. Very powerful words this morning Coleen <3
right?!!? so thankful that we know the choice is ours, cynda…i like your word ‘demolish!’ <3
Thank you so much Coleen.. I love this.. As usual you have allowed God to use you to help us with your study and leadership.. I am loving this study.. it surely speaks to me..
me, too, miss ann…me, too! i am so glad that you are here with us! <3
Each day I find that I have much to think about… The way I see myself has been led by what others think of me in some way and society as well. Just think of all the shows on TV movies magazines, we as women or men for that matter have set such high bars for ourselves that we do not allow us to be what God has determined us to be. I for one retread some of today’s challenge and realized I may have never looked in the mirror and seen what my Lord sees. What a beautiful and healthy way to see me, lil ol me. Princess daughter of the king! He knows each strand of hair on my head! He made me and I see the beauty in others it may be a relief to see the beauty in myself through Christ eyes….
With love
HeAther
yay for that, princess daughter of the King! <3