In this third and final part of this series on Breaking Abuse, I wish to provide you with the remaining five steps that will help you on your road to recovery and wholeness.
STEP 1: PRAISE YOURSELF (Say: "I am somebody special to God").
"For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only-begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish - come to destruction, be lost - but have eternal (ever lasting) life." (John 3:16)
Say: "God loves me and believes in me."
"The heart of her husband trusts in her confidently and relies on and believes in her safely, so that he has no lack of honest gain or need of dishonest spoil." (Prov. 31:11)
Say: "I am a 'Proverbs 31' woman. Each day, I am becoming more of what I was created to be. I am precious and valuable."
"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works: and that my soul knoweth right well." (Ps. 139:14 KJV)
Say: "I am 'wonderfully and fearfully made."
"But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]. This is the righteousness of the vindication which they obtain from Me - this is that which I impart to them as their justification - says the Lord." (Isa. 54:17)
Say: "I am born to win - to overcome! No weapon formed against me shall prosper."
"And all your [spiritual] children shall be disciples - taught of the Lord [and obedient to His will]; and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children." (Isa. 54:13)
Say: "I shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be my peace and undisturbed composure."
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity - of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear - but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control." (2 Tim. 1:7)
Say: "God has not given me the spirit of fear but of power, love, and sound mind."
"For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as in and examples of] the righteousness of God - what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness." (2 Cor. 5:21)
Say: "I am the righteousness of God."
"But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom, and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right], and then all these things taken together will be given you besides." (Matt. 6:33)
Say: "I now seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto me."
"Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am." (Phil. 4:11)
Say: "I have learned that whatever state I am in therewith to be content."
STEP 7: LIFT YOURSELF (Be happy with yourself).
You need to state that you are happy each day. You have to choose to be happy. You have to choose to pray, and choose to be thankful. Make sure you let the Holy Spirit have full reign over your life.
Scriptures to Confess:
"Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart."
(Ps. 37:4)
"Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord, and I will make you to ride on the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage [promise for you to] Jacob your father; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it."
(Isa. 58:14)
"Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you; rise to a new life]! Shine - be radiant with the glory of the Lord; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you!"
(Isa. 60:1)
"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good."
(Prov. 15:3)
"A gentle tongue [with its healing power] is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit."
(Prov. 15:4)
"A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries the bones."
(Prov. 17:22)
"Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad hearted continually - always."
(1 Thess. 5:16-19)
Thank [God] in everything - no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks; for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].
Do not quench (suppress and subdue) the (Holy) Spirit.
STEP 8: HELP YOURSELF (Be truthful with yourself).
One way you can help yourself is to listen to yourself. Make sure you are speaking positive words over yourself. Stand in front of the mirror and say good things about yourself.
Write down ten positive things about yourself and say them out loud.
Ten Positive Confessions:
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
4. ______________________________
5. ______________________________
6. ______________________________
7. ______________________________
8. ______________________________
9. ______________________________
10. _____________________________
STEP 9: TRUST YOURSELF (Know you are trustworthy).
Proverbs 31:11 says that you are trustworthy, so trust yourself to make the right decisions. Learn to pray and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and His leadings. Listen to the voice of the Father. Listen to Jesus.
All three Persons of the Trinity will lead you and guide you if you will just learn (by practicing) to listen to them. They give good and accurate advice.
STEP 10: LOVE YOURSELF (Know that you are so valuable that no price can be placed on you).
...You shall love your neighbor as yourself...(Lev. 19:18). God would never tell you to hate your neighbor, would He? That's why He said to love your neighbor "as yourself," because He wants you to love yourself - to know what a prize you are - to know how valuable you are.
A possession is prized and valued according to the price that was paid for it. The life of the only Son of God, Jesus, was paid for you. That makes you priceless - invaluable! You are so valuable that no price can be placed on you! You are worth more than you think! You are worth loving! You are priceless to God. And you need to love yourself in order to fulfill God's Word!
You must learn to love yourself before anyone else can learn to love you. You bind up everyone else's love by not freeing your own love to yourself.
Spend time with yourself.
Confess Leviticus 19:18 often: "You shall not take revenge or bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."
The Choices You Make
Well, now that you've been through each step, how do you feel? I pray you can feel the very presence of God inside you and that your shoulders are squared back and you are standing taller on the outside and on the inside.
Remember to make the choice to practice all ten steps. Choices affect your health and your emotions. Your entire life is dictated by the choices you make.
Now I want to leave you with this very sobering thought. The devil will tell you, "You don't need to know this stuff," because it is his desire to "cloak you with stupidity."
Even though you would never choose to be stupid, the devil will try to put this cloak upon you. You have to choose to throw it off and get knowledge. God says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...(Hos. 4:6).
God has given us a contract with Him - the Bible. The devil cannot break the contract because it is legal through Jesus. The contract says: "This is your day. You can rise up."
You are somebody to God, and He can do and wants to do great and wonderful things in you and through you as you take authority in the name of Jesus. Say: "This is my contract, and the devil can't break it. In the name of Jesus, I am somebody!"
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