June 1, 2009
God’s Mirror
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
“For as he (a man or woman) thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7 NASB emphases added)
Friend to Friend
Amazingly, when God created man in His own image, He gave us the power of words. He didn’t entrust words with monkeys, zebras, or elephants. He gave words to man. Our words also have creative potential. As a matter-of-fact, the Bible tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21 NASB). Our words become the mirror in which others see themselves. Our words impact children, husbands, friends, and the world. But some of the most powerful words we speak are the ones that no one hears … the words we speak to ourselves.
We can speak life to ourselves and we can speak death to ourselves. Our minds think about 130 words per minute and our mouths (women) speak about 25,000 words in a day. That’s a lot of words! A considerable amount of those words are spoken or thought to ourselves. Most of this self-talk is harmless, such as what will I fix for dinner? or where did I put my hairbrush? But some are very destructive saying, “I’m so stupid,” “I’m such an idiot,” or “I’m never going to be good enough,” can create habitual destructive thought patterns that can paralyze a person into inactivity.
Negative self-perceptions repeated over a time will brand themselves into our minds and eventually become our reality. If you repeat a wrong belief or lie enough times, you begin to believe it. “Nobody loves me,” “I don’t have any friends,” or “I’m so ugly” becomes your reality … even though it is a false reality. You can become stuck in the house of mirrors looking at a distorted reflection of who you really are.
The negative destructive lies of the enemy are like a tar baby. The more you play with it, toy with it, embrace it, the more you get stuck to it. Each time we speak a lie about ourselves, the more we become bound to it. “As [a man] thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV)
When we look into God’s mirror, His incredible love letter to us we call the Bible, we discover the truth. God does love you (Colossians 3:12). You have an entire cloud of witnesses cheering for you (Hebrews 12:1). You are God’s masterpiece, a work of beautiful art (Ephesians 2:10). You are good enough because Christ lives in you (John14:20). You are a chosen, holy, dearly loved child of God. That’s the truth. Let’s get out of the house of mirrors and start seeing ourselves as God sees us.
In one of John’s letters, he wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4). I believe that God has no greater joy than to know that His children are walking in the truth. When we are walking in the truth, the lies are exposed. We can recognize the lie, reject the lie, and replace the lie with truth. Then, and only then, can we be all that God has created us to be and do all that God has created us to do. We can experience the abundant life that He planned all along.
I believe God has great plans for all of us. His Word promises that He does. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). But many of us are not experiencing the abundant life because we don’t know who we are. We have believed the lies that we are not good enough, unloved, unworthy, and unforgivable. We have been looking in distorted mirrors for far too long. God wants us to look into the only true mirror that will tell us exactly who we are, what we have, and where we are as a child of God – His Word. It is the key to living the victorious Christian life.
Let’s Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, so many times I speak words that are not true about who I am. I pray for the conviction of the Holy Spirit to stop me from speaking negative words about myself to myself. Help me to speak the truth as found in Your Word. Help me to begin seeing myself as You see me – a chosen, holy, dearly loved child of Yours who is empowered by the Holy Spirit and enveloped by Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Today, pay attention to the words you speak to yourself. They don’t have to be said aloud. Think about the words you even think to yourself about yourself.
Would God agree with what you are saying? Do the words line up with what God says about you as His redeemed and empowered child? If you’d like to comment on today’s devotion, visit Sharon’s blog at http://sharonjaynes.com/blog/.
More From The Girlfriends
It is time to start believing the truth. It is time to hear God say, “You are my daughter, whom I love; with you, I am well pleased. Are you ready to walk out of the house of mirrors once and for all? Are you ready to begin seeing yourself as God sees you? Are you ready to begin living the abundant life that God planned all along? Then you’ll want to read Sharon’s book, I’m Not Good Enough…and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves.
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Originally published Monday, 01 June 2009.