Your Thoughts Shape Your Life
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts (Proverbs 4:34)
Little inspirational sayings like, “You are the only one who can limit your greatness.” Or, “Make your optimism come true", or 'if you think you can do it", are everywhere. Can we say that they help? Maybe momentarily but for a deeper and abiding change we will need more than a self help slogan.
The truth is that inspiration has its place. But ultimately inspiration that comes from the outside is synthetic and short lasting. It has a short shelf life when it comes to deep, life-changing self-talk. Don’t be hoodwinked by the “inspirational-industrial complex.” Genuine long-lasting and life-transforming inspiration has to arise from a deeper place.
Way before the insurgence of psychology, God said that your thoughts determine your feelings and your feelings determine your actions. The mind is really an amazing creation. Did you know that we are constantly talking to ourselves? Research indicates that most people speak at a rate of 150 to 200 words per minute, but the internal dialogue that you carry on with yourself (self-talk) is more like 1,300 words per minute.!
The problem is that in all our self-talk, a lot of people are like Job. We are always putting ourselves down. Job said “Everything I say seems to condemn me” (Job 9:20b). Do you relate with this? ( I do it all the time). You could walk into a room smiling, but inside you’re saying, “I’m fat. I’m not smart enough. I’m ugly. And I’m always late.” Sadly most of this dialogue is unconsciously done.
The key to changing your negative self-talk into the best kind of self-talk is to experience God’s love deep down in your soul. Not the book knowledge but real individualized experiential encounter of God’s love through the Holy Spirit. This comes when we admit that we are indeed inadequate — that we haven’t and will not ever earn God’s love. It’s an impossibility. Yet, God has given it freely unto us through an act of Grace. Jesus came that they may have life and have it abundantly. — John 10:10. Amen.
So, when we open our hearts to receive this love and continually walk with God to experience it, our internal dialogue forever changes. We become secure, worry wanes, peace reigns, we are less defensive, more caring , generous and attractive for all the right reasons.
We replace our thoughts by changing the focus from our insufficiencies and instead “Fix our thoughts on what is true and good and right . . . Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about it” (Philippians 4:8b TLB). We start to meditate on God s word, applying it in our lives, believing what God says about us, internalizing His promises. Then radiate this love that we have experienced unto the world.
Will you accept this Jesus to change you from within?