You shouldn't talk like that! I mean to yourself; you shouldn't call yourself those bad names.
Yes, I hear you. You say it right out loud, "idiot, dummy, fat, ugly, stupid, not creative, not good at anything, unwanted, failure..."
I do it too. But we shouldn't. Those are lies of the enemy, with whom we've wrongly made agreement.
As daughters of the King, our true identity is in Christ.
In Christ, we are chosen, holy, blameless; we are loved, adopted, forgiven and redeemed. Additionally, He lavished on us wisdom and understanding.(Ephesians 1:4-8)
Don't be too hard on yourself. As far back as the womb, voices (both lies and truth) have been spoken into our being. As we grow & develop, particular circumstances seem to reinforce the voices, for better and for worse.
As a child I was a daydreamer (yes, even still) which meant I often walked with my head toward the sky making pictures in the clouds (still do). Other times I walked with my eyes on my feet, skipping about trying not to step on a crack. I often ran into things (yes, still), and often heard that I needed to pay better attention, which was true.
However, I believed because I was being scolded, I was clumsy, uncoordinated, and accident prone. I took these words in as a part of my identity. As I claimed these words over myself it seemed my actions more often than not validated my belief.
That is until I allowed Jesus to begin to redeem my thinking and renew my mind. Jesus doesn't call me clumsy or accident prone. He sees me as I was created ~ day dreamer, deep thinker, lost in my thoughts, and creative. In His eyes, I'm a girl full of whimsy and playfulness.
So, it's been a process of retraining my thinking. For several years now, I've been asking Holy Spirit to make me aware of the lies, to prick my conscience when I am ready to call myself bad names. My desire is to be quick at recognizing the lies and take them captive before they fall from my lips.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Just this week, feeling overwhelmed with circumstances, I was having a tug of war with myself. I wanted to stay home and hide with Jesus, wrapped in a blanket and His Love for me. And yet, I needed to get in my car and go to work.
As I struggled with my want and my have to, a picture flashed through my mind...
I was walking a pathway through a wooded area. The pathway was clear, but the wooded area was dark with shadows on both sides. As I walked, rocks flew out of the shadows from gnarled hands pelting me from every direction. As I looked each rock had a name on it...failure, clumsy, alone, fearful, weak, not good enough, and ....on and on...
Just as I realized I was being attacked with lies, Jesus was instantly beside me with His arm around my shoulder and His other hand commanding the rock throwers away. They all scurried off deeper into the woods and there were no more lies hurled in my direction.
Jesus reminded me that I am never alone. I don't have to make a choice to stay with Him in my quiet time place or go to work without Him.
God has said, "Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."
So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper;
I will not be afraid..."
Hebrews 13:5-6
I don't have to walk defenseless through the rock throwers, the name hurlers, and neither do you.
I wonder if you're aware you call yourself bad names. Would you ask Holy Spirit to prick you with awareness and help you to quickly recognize the lies with which you've made agreement? I pray you will choose to see Jesus is by your side, and in Him is your true identity.
Reject the lies, and receive truth.
Daughter of the King, you are chosen, holy, blameless, loved, adopted, redeemed, and forgiven!
Blessings of GREAT JOY on your amazing adventure journey with Jesus!
Lisa
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