SPEAKING TRUTH TO OURSELVES

Just because we become followers of Jesus does not automatically mean we will always experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). Satan seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. If he can't have us, he would at least rather that we stay weighed down and unproductive in our faith. Sometimes we find ourselves weighed down by his lies and by our own negative self-talk. At these times, we need to find and believe the truths from God's Word, and speak those truths from God's Word to ourselves to counteract the lies that Satan would rather have us believe.

We must combat everything we think and believe that is not what God says! 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we are to take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Peter 1:4 says that He has given us very great and precious promises--so let us speak those promises to ourselves!

For example, how many times have you heard people repeat Jeremiah 17:9 (CSB): "The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?" and then explain away our heart's desires? But that was our old selves. When God talked of restoring the people of Israel in Ezekiel 36:26-27 (CSB), he said, "'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances." He has done that for us also! And Romans 8:6 (CSB) says, "Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace." So let us say, "My heart was deceitful, but God has given me a new heart and put a new spirit within me. And the mindset of the Spirit He has placed within me is life and peace."

Or what about when you feel needy? Psalm 23:1 (CSB) says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need." The NIV translates this, "I lack nothing." 2 Peter 1:3 (CSB) says, "His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." Psalm 145:16 (CSB) says, "You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." Romans 8:32 (CSB) says, "'He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?" So let us say, "The Lord is my shepherd, so I lack nothing. In fact, I have everything I need! God's divine power has given me everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called me by his own glory and goodness. God opens his hand and satisfies my desires. He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for me, so he will also with Jesus grant me everything!"

What about when you feel weighed down because of shame and guilt from past sins for which you have already been forgiven? Psalm 103:12 (CSB) says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Romans 8:1-2 (CSB) says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death." Colossians 1:13-14 (CSB) says, "He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." So let us say, "God has removed my sins from me as far as the east is from the west. There is now no condemnation for me because I am in Christ Jesus, and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. God has rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me into Jesus' kingdom. In Jesus, I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins!"

What about when you feel weak? Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Holy Spirit has come on us when we believed in Christ Jesus, so we too have received His power! Romans 8:26 says, "In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, with inexpressible groanings." Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength." So let us say, "I received power when the Holy Spirit came on me. The Spirit helps me in my weakness and intercedes for me, and I am strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength!"

So when you find yourself weighed down and think you may have been believing a lie, seek out what God's Word actually says about the stronghold that has been in your mind, and then speak that truth to yourself. I write down these truths so that I can keep repeating them (Psalm 1:2) and thus be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).