There is so much to be negative about today. Just turn on the news and see. Scroll your Twitter and Facebook feeds and see it all on display. We live in a negative-saturated environment. But that is an obvious observation off course.
What we need to do is look inside of ourselves and see the real battle taking place. People think that the devil’s attack is physical and it is but the other deadly strategy is mental. He attacks your thoughts. I experienced his attack first hand growing up. And for a very long time it looked like he won the war. I had no self-esteem. I thought very little about myself and didn’t expect that to change. And the crazy thing about his attack is that it went into auto-pilot. I didn’t need his help to tear myself down. I was my own worst enemy eventually.
It was only when Jesus came into my life that He destroyed all the strongholds the enemy had built. Through reading His word, and teachings my mind began to be renewed.
The mental war is real and it’s taking a lot of people out. What kind of thoughts are you battling today? It’s time to wage war on them because the thoughts the devil feeds are all lies. There is not even one that is true. And it’s easy to identify his attacks. Whatever thoughts cause you fear, panic, stress, anxiety, hopelessness, terror and so on are not from God.
Renew your mind with the Word of God. His Word is truth. Jesus is truth!
The only way to take down the strongholds in your mind is with the truth. I love Philippians 4:8 and this is what it says,
“Finally, brothers, 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.”
This kind of thinking doesn’t just happen. Thinking positive doesn’t come naturally because we were born into sin. Because of Adam’s sin we are not perfect. And that is why Jesus had to come save us. On our own we would always lose.
We need to train ourselves to think positive, to think about God’s word. We need God’s help to change the kind of thoughts we struggle with on a daily basis. We need His help to tear down strongholds that have been built on our minds.
You don’t have to fight alone. You don’t have to face the negative thoughts alone. Look to God. Bring Him the thoughts that are attacking you and let His truth replace the lies of the devil.
I don’t know about you but I feel inadequate often when it comes to God’s purposes for my life. I look at the things He is leading me into and I am like, how am I going to do this Lord? And with that comes the insecurities. Thoughts like,
I am not worthy
I am not qualified
Who am I to do this?
Where do I even start?
And so many more like thoughts ravage my mind.
Recently I was feeling very insecure but God reminded me of a few things that I want to encourage you with if you are facing the same feelings of insecurity.
God’s purpose for your life will always be infinitely greater than your current abilities and strengths
He knows very well that you are not able to accomplish His purpose in your own strength.
He is very in tune with your weaknesses and failings but in His grace and mercy He has still chosen you!
He wants you to trust Him wholeheartedly every step of the way because that’s the only way you can accomplish what He has called you to.
Another thing I realized is that the devil wants you to focus on your weaknesses, and sins so that you can disqualify yourself from God’s calling. Remember Moses.
When God called him, what did he do? Instead of saying yes Lord, he started giving excuses why he wasn’t the right candidate. Excuse after excuse he gave until he pleaded,
“But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else”
Exodus 4:13
The answer to feeling overwhelmed and out of your depth is not digging in and going at it alone in your own strength but it’s diving deeper into God and seeking His strength and wisdom.
Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy. You are enough because God calls you His son and daughter. He chose you not because you were strong enough, clever enough, rich enough, born in the right neighborhood, or because you went to the right school. It’s because He loved you and extended grace to you.
Whatever you do, don’t talk yourself out of his purpose. Take your insecurities to Him and drop them at His feet. Unpack every burden you feel and don’t hold anything back.
The Lord has amazing things planned for you so trust Him every step of the way.
I hope you had a great festive season with family and friends. I also hope you got a time to rest, recharge and reflect. I don’t know about you but I am so excited for 2022. I know God has amazing things in store.
One great thing about the New Year is the prospect of something new. New beginnings, new opportunities, new doors and so on. Everything is new, new, new
But I won’t be talking about that today. I want to focus on something else.
Another great thing about a new year is the second chance we get to either make things right, to do things the right way, finish a project, repair broken bridges in a relationship, to correct some mistakes made in the previous year, and the list goes on. Whatever that thing is a new year brings with it a second chance to try again.
And this is important to know because a lot of people carry shame, guilt, anxiety, fear and so many other negative things from the past year which has a definite impact on the current year. Those people end up believing that the New Year has nothing different to offer them.
If you are one of those people I want to encourage you that the God we serve is the God of second chances. No matter how bad you have messed up He wants to give you a second chance. Take Jonah for example.
God called him to go preach to the people of Nineveh but he ran away from doing what God told him to do. But instead of disowning him or punishing him, God gave him a second chance to do the right thing,
“Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time: Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you. This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.”
Jonah 3:1-3
The Lord spoke to Jonah a second time and instead of running away like before Jonah grabbed the opportunity to do it right. And because he did Nineveh was saved from God’s punishment.
I also think of Peter who denied the Lord three times. One would think he blew it for good but Jesus gave him a second chance.
We serve a God of second chances. So as we are now in 2022 don’t let the mistakes and failures of 2021 stop you from having a great year. Take the guilt, shame, fear and anxiety you are carrying to the Lord’s feet. He has a second chance waiting for you.
What you believe about yourself is stronger than the potential you have.
God has created you with incredible potential with the intention you use it all. But the beliefs you have about yourself is what matters the most. For example, you can have the potential to be an astronaut but if you believe you don’t have what it takes or you believe you can’t be an astronaut then that’s what will happen.
Our negative beliefs about ourselves stop us from using all the potential God has given us. But enough of theories. I have proof of this principle from the word of God so let’s get into it.
The Israelites were God’s chosen people. They had incredible potential indeed. God was with them. From the time He led them out of Egypt to the Promise land He was with them. They had never know defeat, their clothes and shoes never wore out, they had a cloud to lead them by day and fire by night. So talk about potential. They finally reached the promise land and something interesting happened. The spies that went and spied out the land had a report for the people:
“We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.”
“But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
“We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Numbers 13: 26-33
Potential was not enough for the Israelites to obtain what God promised them. It boiled down to what they believed and what they believed stopped them from possessing the promise land save for Joshua and Caleb. They believed they couldn’t win. They believed they were grasshoppers. But remember, God had delivered them from the Egyptians, and looked after them in the desert.
That’s how powerful our beliefs are.
We need to take a long hard look at the beliefs we have. Where have we picked up the beliefs we currently hold? Are they from the word of God or from people around us? Our beliefs should be based on the word of God because the Word is truth. It doesn’t change and can’t be shaken. It is solid and is our foundation.
What you believe is important.
Let’s look at one more example. Gideon had so much potential in him. When the angel of the Lord appeared to him, he called him a mighty man of valor (Judges 6;1). That was the potential in him but for as long as Gideon could remember, he was made to believe something else. He was made to believe he was the least of the least which wasn’t true.
But the good news is that, God changed Gideon’s belief. The potential was always in him to be a mighty man of valor but work had to be done on his beliefs and when the belief changed he became what God created him to be! I love that.
I have had some crazy beliefs in the past about myself. Crazy, negative beliefs, but God has changed them. The outdated beliefs I held for so long have been changed and He continues to change them. Outdated, negative beliefs don’t change in a day. It takes time and it’s a process. God wants us to believe in Him. He wants us to believe in the promises and plans He has for us.
So as I come to the end of the post I want to encourage you to ask God to show you the beliefs that are holding you back and know that outdated, negative beliefs can be changed. God wants to help you.
There is so much pressure in the world to talk, walk, dress and be like the people we see on television and the magazines we read. Being “yourself” is not popular. But when God made us, He made us unique, … Continue reading →
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