You’re Better than You Think
How we think, talk, and act affect our lives greatly. We all feel discouraged and defeated at times but if our internal conversation is down all the time then we won’t live up to our potential. This is why it is important for us see ourselves as victors and not victims.
Last week I heard a phrase, “Live out of your position and not your condition.” This is a game changer. God created us endued with power and potential. When we operate out of our position in God then we can overcome any condition that’s facing us.
Earlier this year, I was ministering in Thailand, where I heard a fascinating story. In the mid-fifties the government of Thailand was to build a highway cutting through a village where a huge mud statue of Buddha was standing. The religious symbol was revered and worshipped by people so the government decided to relocate the statue to a nearby monastery. While trying to move the statue, pieces of dry clay began to fall off the object. The more carefully they tried to move the idol the more it began to crumble. Finally, huge chunks of clay came off of it revealed an amazing secret hidden for centuries. What was believed to be a clay statue was actually made out of solid gold. What seemed to be worth only $50,000 was estimated to be valued millions of dollars!
Like the mud covered statute, sometimes we forget that we’re made of gold. The labels people put on us and our own negative experiences make us doubt what we’re made of. People throw dirt on us and sometimes we believe the lies playing in our heads. Today, I encourage you to wash off the mud and let the gold in you shine forth. You’re more valuable than you think!
Our lives will gravitate towards the dominant thoughts playing in our minds. That is why it is so important for us to feed our mind with the pure, the positive, and the wholesome thoughts. When we’re listening or talking negative things, we’re sabotaging our own future. You cannot dwell on the negative and expect a positive life. Shake off the disappointments, the dirt, and the discouragement. Let go of the past. You have a dream to live.
Surround yourself with people who speak life into you. Words have creative power. If all you’ve heard in your life is cynical, critical, condemning voices, then it is time for you to hear something new. Get around people who love, respect, and believe in you. Go where you’re celebrated not tolerated. Be in a place of inspiration. Make new friends.
One of the best things you can do to get a healthy self-image is to read and listen to the Word of God. It will remind you that you’re created by the Almighty God. It will teach you who you are and more importantly whose you are. When you discover the promises of God, you’ll not doubt. The angels will be there to assist you. The Holy Spirit will be your Helper.
If you can see it and believe it, you can be and do what you believe. This is what happened to Peter in the Bible. Even though Peter came from uneducated, fishing background, he hung around Jesus for three and a half years. He was short tempered and quick to respond but the more he hung out with Jesus, the better he got. He saw what Jesus did. He heard what Jesus taught. Little by little, Peter began to see what He can do. Peter started developing a better image of himself. It didn’t happen overnight but he made progress. Everyone paints picture of him sinking but do you realize that beside Jesus, Peter was the only man in history who walked on the water? We remember Peter denied Jesus three times. However, on the day of Pentecost, it was Peter who spoke to three thousand people (highest number recorded in the Bible) and led them to Jesus. What am I saying? If you want to get a better self-image of yourself, hang around Jesus and His Word and you too will grow into Godfidence and achieve great things in life.
Friend, you’re not washed up. You are smart and attractive. You are the magnet that draws the favor of God. You’re born to make a difference. Don’t think little of yourself. You’re a child of the Most High God. You’re a royalty. You’re a son and a daughter of God. You’re not a slave but a friend of God. Rise and shine. You’re better than you think!
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14 NIV).
