Get your mental “gloves” on. Fight back against those negative thoughts: stand on TRUTH in 2017. Recently, I was blessed to be the speaker at a women’s retreat in Arizona. The theme was “One True Voice,” and we focused on battling back those negative things we say to ourselves by listening for God’s voice and God’s truth about us.
I can’t put the whole retreat into a blog, but I can leave you with our take-away: TRUTH
T = Testify: you are a child of God Almighty; you are the daughter of the King of Kings; stand confident that you are His princess, amazing and beautiful in His eyes.
R = Recognize: notice when you start saying negative things about yourself, even if it only happens in your mind; recognize where those hurtful thoughts come from ~ we all have “heart wounds” from which our insecurities and doubts flow (and the enemy will try to use these against us); do some journaling and recognize what heart wound is causing those nasty thoughts; once you can recognize it, you can ask God to help you heal it.
U = Utter Scripture: holy Scripture is powerful; find 3 verses from your Bible to fight against the heart wounds you recognized above; memorize those verses; when you start spouting off nasty thoughts about yourself, pause and say the verses instead.
T = Trust God: many things happen to us in life that cause those heart wounds and ugly voices in our heads; we must trust that God is good; read your Bible looking for the character of our God; He is good and He keeps His promises; trust God to heal your heart wounds and to keep His promise that there will be no more tears, no more pain in Heaven, where we will spend eternity!
H = Honor Jesus & Holy Spirit: read John 17 where Jesus is praying just before His arrest; understand that Jesus claimed you as a precious gift from the Father; comprehend that Jesus stepped in and said, “this one is mine.” Read John 14-16 (also, you can study these precious words and final prayer of Christ in His Last Words) and be in awe that you have the power of the Holy Spirit with you always; consider that your not-so-nice thoughts about yourself toss insults at Jesus and the Holy Spirit because God loves you so much; exchange your thoughts for God’s One True Voice.
This nifty acronym (TRUTH) is easier said than done, but my experience has been that it is possible. Be determined to change. Be ready to fight. How?
- Write TRUTH and what it means somewhere you will see it every day.
- Recognize your heart wounds and find 3 verses to fight back.
- Set aside at least 15 minutes each day for God; pray, read your Bible, memorize your verses, listen for His voice.
- When you start to hear your own voice, ask for the Holy Spirit to speak instead.
- Don’t give up. Our culture supports those nasty lies about ourselves. Put those “gloves” on every day and fight back.
Let’s do it together ~ share your ideas for standing firm on TRUTH by leaving a comment to help others get started…really, go ahead, take a risk, reach out, type something below…you can do it, you are the daughter of the King!