“You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” Ps 139:14
I was thinking of what we say outwardly to others and also what we say inwardly to ourselves. The former is a reflection of the latter.
The things we say inwardly, or self-talk as it is known in psychology, are very much a reflection of our self-esteem. For instance, if you are often telling yourself how stupid you are, how nobody loves you, how meaningless your life is, the fruit of this kind of thinking comes out in the way we react to others. Sometimes even the things that other people do or say have the effect of confirming this negativity which we carry within ourselves. An example, somebody at work implies that you are careless, immediately this remark goes straight to the negative feelings you have and it comes out as it's true, I am a useless nobody and I can't even do my work right.
The resultant effect is that the nothingness we feel, the emptiness, the sadness, the lack of understanding of our existence, become heavier and heavier.
But in God, who says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, we do not need to carry around such negativity. Maybe that other person is carrying around a bundle of hurt just like you are and they make that thoughtless comment that brings your heart right down. Give yourself a break. When you find yourself saying these negative things inwardly, turn it around to the positive and the truth, because you know it’s not true that you are worthless – God says you are very valuable and precious in His eyes. It’s not true that there is no hope for you – God says that our hope is in Him - "so the helpless has hope" Jeremiah 5:16.
It’s not true that you are not loved – God says that He has loved you with an everlasting love ("I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness" Jeremiah 31:3).
These are not just empty words, they are special promises that God has made. And our God, praise His Name!, is so great and His promises are not like our promises. Our promises are just like our lives, a breath, a wave washing over the shore and then disappearing into the great big sea. But God's promises are everlasting, through the ages HE has proven Himself true to His word.
So why not put your trust in Him, dear friend, dear downtrodden, sad, lonely friend, and ask Him to take the hurts that you feel, which you have been accumulating throughout your whole life, and ask Him to renew your spirit. Often when I feel down I think of those precious words “I am a new creation, no more in condemnation” ("Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new."
2 Corinthians 5:17). Just as I know I am a new creation, I urge you to put these timeless words into your spirit and to put your trust in Him today.
May these words strengthen you.
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