Many people are very critical of themselves. The devil comes along with thoughts of condemnation, and they readily agree with him. A mistake is made when these thoughts are spoken aloud. Their words cause these images to become established in their lives. You see, words have creative ability (Heb. 11:3).
Many people are very critical of themselves. The devil comes along with thoughts of condemnation, and they readily agree with him. A mistake is made when these thoughts are spoken aloud. Their words cause these images to become established in their lives. You see, words have creative ability (Heb. 11:3).
I've seen faith-filled words turn a situation around. And I've also seen fear-filled words cause bad things to happen. Speaking negatively about ourselves only hinders God from doing what He desires to do in our lives.
Words have the creative ability to form pictures or images in our minds. Image means "a representation of a person or thing, a likeness or a copy." In the same way that children copy what their parents do and say, God wants us to talk and think the way He does.
The Bible says that Christ is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4). John 14:9 says that if you have seen Him (Jesus), you have seen the Father. As we follow after Jesus, we will walk in the image that God wants projected in the earth. As we follow Jesus' example in overcoming the world, and do the greater works spoken of in John 14:12, people will begin to see Christ's image in us.
Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he...." How do you see yourself? At one point in that movie (see "A New You! Part One), the young girl looked at herself in the mirror and said, "Well, this is as good as it gets!"
If that's the way you think of yourself, you're living below God's expectation of you. After finding out that she was a princess, she did not immediately see herself as royalty. She had to change her way of thinking and learn how to live the lifestyle of a princess. Likewise, you must do the same by renewing your mind to who you are and the privileges you have in Christ (Rom. 12:2).
Make a Decision to Change
Remember, it's not what happens to you in life that causes your success or failure, but what you believe about yourself. Some people don't believe that they are supposed to have anything. They don't think that they'll ever get out of poverty or live without sickness and disease. Until they change those images and begin to believe what God says about them in His Word, they will remain in the same situations.
How does this transformation take place? By meditating on scriptures of who you are in Christ and the rights you have as a child of God (Philem. 6). You complete the process by confessing or speaking aloud what God has said about you in His Word (Prov. 18:21).
One of the most important things about making confessions is that you will begin to develop a picture of who you really are. As you make your declarations, you cause your thoughts to line up with the Word of God. Then, when wrong images try to take root in your mind, you can easily cast them down (2 Cor. 10:5).
As you meditate on how God sees you and allow His image to be the reflection that people see, you'll find old fears and insecurities slipping away. And you'll step into the new you!
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Taffi Dollar is a celebrated author, teacher, and well-known conference speaker. Together with her husband, Creflo Dollar, she pastors more than 30,000 active members at World Changers Church International, World Changers Church-New York, as well as a host of fellowship churches throughout the U.S. and internationally.
