I was watching a sales skills video yesterday of Brian Tracy. In one of the segments, he said, “You cannot like anyone else more than you like yourself.” The problem, he pointed out, is that most people don’t like themselves very much. Their inner voice points out their negatives. His remedy was to say out loud, “I like myself. I like myself. I like myself” over and over until it becomes ingrained in your fibers. It was kind of funny to watch to be honest, but there was a lot of truth there too.
Each one of us has that inner voice that speaks to us. Each one of us also has a label that has followed us through life. That voice in our head speaks it to us over and over every day. It tells us why we’re still single when everyone else is married. It tells us why we’re too incompetent to get that promotion. It tells us why no one will ever be our true friend. The list goes on and on. The problem is that that voice is creating your perceived reality.
I call it perceived because it is not the truth, but you have bought into it anyway. It could have started when you were a child and a parent, sibling, teacher or other influential person in your life told you that you weren’t good enough, smart enough, good looking enough or whatever. Your mind reluctantly gave in and it has become how you see yourself. Let me tell you that is not how God sees you.
There is a battle for your life and it is won and lost in the mind. If the enemy can get you to believe that lie, he can minimize your effectiveness. He can keep you from being who God called you to be. He would rather have you sit on the side lines of incompetence than in the game fully engaged. That’s where God wants you. He created you with a specific purpose and destiny that ONLY you can fulfill. God has a plan for your life, even if it has gone off course He can use that experience to fulfill your plan.
Proverbs 18:21 in The Message reads, “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.” Your inner voice has been poisoning your mind rather than nourishing it if you have been listening to it. You must change the narrative today! The verse said “you choose.” It’s up to you what you believe. You can trust that voice that says, “You’re incompetent. You’re not worthy. You’re ugly. You’re fat. You’re not worth it. You’re a disappointment. You’re dumb.” Or you can change that and believe what God says.
When that voice comes into your mind, change the narrative by saying out loud, “I’m a child of God. I’m a king’s kid. I’m competent. I’m worthy. I’m beautiful. I’m just the right size. I’m worth more than rubies. I’m God’s favorite (That’s mine, but you can borrow it!). I’m intelligent. I’m created in God’s image.” Say it out loud, say it often and continue until you believe it because it is true. You can believe what others say, your mind says or what God says. I choose to believe God.
Join with me in an exercise if you will. I want you to post a comment today. I want you to first put in what lie you’ve believed. Then I want you to write out your new narrative, the truth. If you know a scripture that backs it up, put that in there too. If you are unfamiliar with verses in the Bible, ask if anyone knows one for you. Lets work together to help each other get off the sidelines and get in the game so we can fulfill our God given destiny. I’ll start with mine.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 