Self Confidence

 

Self confidence all comes from the thoughts in our mind.

I am sure all who read my Blog and my comments on theirs, will think I am a very self confident person.

Well, this may surprise you, because I am not!

It's taken me years to build up confidence.

And still I have times of terrible self destruction in my mind.

WORDS...

Our Words to our self..

And the Words of others to us!

Can do much to destroy our self esteem and confidence.

In my first marriage (over thirty years) I was constantly told I was stupid.

So much so, that I believed it.

  and I sometimes still tell myself this, often aloud!!

Then I have to remind myself, WHO I am in Christ.

And that God loves me,  just as I am.

In His Word.....and His Word is truth, 

He tells me He lovingly formed me.

“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. 

We are the clay, and you are the potter. 

We all are formed by your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

I was formed by God's hand, now that can make me feel better!

By this I know, I am not so bad after all. 

Sometimes our thoughts are completely wrong.

Our mind can run away, thinking something that is not true.

When this happens I/you/we, need to ask ourselves.

"Where is the evidence to what I am thinking?"

An Example:

A friend doesn't call you, so YOU THINK they don't care.

*When the truth is, they have problems of their own and they are waiting for you to call them.

You attend a new church and not many, or no one, come to greet you.

So you feel unworthy, unwanted.... and walk away, despondant, never to return.

*INSTEAD, you could walk forward and introduce yourself to those around you. 

Proverbs 23:7 says..

"As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is."

We think with our feelings, and our emotions. So that's where the devil attacks.

In our most vulnerable place. 

He wants us to feel unwanted and unloved.

He wants to reduce our self image, and esteem.

He wants to take away our confidence, that we are beloved of God.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, 

against powers, 

against the rulers of the darkness of this age,  

against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 6:12 

When I get down in spirit and my thoughts are misconstrued. 

I speak scripture aloud because I know it is the Sword of the Word..

I know that if I resist the devil, he will flee from me.

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God 

for pulling down strongholds.

2 Corinthians 10:4

Because...

"I have been crucified with Christ; 

it is no longer I who live, 

but Christ lives in me; 

and the life which I now live in the flesh 

I live by faith in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galatians 2:20

AMEN

Refresh your soul.....God loves me/you/us.

Strongholds of the Mind

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;  casting down imaginations,  and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

The mind is a powerful tool.
We can concentrate on the good around us and keep our mind positive!
Or, we can dwell on the negative and let the Devil feed us nasty thoughts, that poisons our souls. 'Stinkin Thinkin.'

If we allow STRONG HOLDS from the enemy to take over our mind, they begin to poison every word we are given.

For example: A young man angrily told me the other day, that every woman he meets takes advantage of him and does the wrong thing by him.

And yet, he seeks to  find the right one. He is lonely!

To reassure, I told him that somewhere out there is a lonely lady waiting, just for him

Did he accept these words as a kindness? No!!!

He turned on me saying neither I nor anyone else was going to FORCE him to go looking for anyone.......

Everything I said to him was turned back in anger towards me.

He has allowed strongholds to have occupancy. 

You cannot reason with someone like this, you can only pray for them.

So what do you do with constant thoughts that seek to consume and defile?

You use the weapons of your warfare....

You do as Jesus did when tempted by Satan in the dessert.

You quote the word of God, over and over and over in your mind.

Until, the word takes root and produces seed, good seed.

You drive out the (SPIRIT) of fear and replace it with the(SPIRITUAL) power.

Saying aloud....It is written!!!

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 timothy 1:7)  X3

LIVE IN THE SPIRIT OF LOVE

Like a little girl named Pollyanna.

For those of you who don't know the story, Pollyanna was an orphan. 

She was brought up by poor Christian parents. Her mother died and later her Pastor father followed.  Pollyanna was sent to live with her mothers sister, her Aunt Polly, who was very wealth and upholds a superior RELIGIOUS attitude to all.

Pollyanna has been taught a CHRISTIAN attitude, of being GLAD about everything. She is generous, kind and loving to all. As the characters traits unfold we see a whole town that a SPIRIT of negativity has encompassed.  

We see the example in this story of how the devil succeeds in causing havoc in the minds by imaginations. People didn't address their problems! They don't display Christian compassion and love to one another,  instead they allow wounds of hurt to fester, erupt and influence with negativity. 

Pollyanna soon teaches the whole town how to play her GLAD game.....

In other words, she helps everyone bring their thoughts and minds into harmony with the mind of Christ. She teaches them, how to be, Christ-like.

2 Timothy 2:21

Allow Christ to shape your mind.