“Be careful how you think;
your life is shaped by your thoughts.”
~~Proverbs 4:23 GNT~~
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”
~~Proverbs 4:23 NKJV~~
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that so much of the time I am guilty of “stinkin’ thinkin’” and that most of the stinkin’ thinkin’ has to do with my own self image and subsequent negative self-talk. Let me give you an example of what I mean. (Here’s where fear meets transparency.)
I used to lead worship with the team at the church I was attending. Here’s a snippet of what went on in my head at times during the week prior to having to be on stage to lead worship.
- You’re soooooo fat and ugly
- What are you gonna wear to disguise your chub?
- You know since you had cancer, your voice is not the same, it’s weak now.
- People are gonna be distracted from worshiping because you lead like an awkward dork.
- You are the only old person up there, you should retire from that ministry.
- Since you had cancer your hair is thin and the lights are gonna make it look even thinner.
- All the younger team members probably wish you’d just get off the stage.
That’s pretty messed up, huh? I’m my own worst enemy.
Battling low self image doesn’t vanish as you age. I remember thinking as a teen, “I can’t wait to become an adult so I won’t have to battle how I feel about myself.” Well, frankly that day still hasn’t come, and I am many decades past teenager. Sounds pretty hopeless doesn’t it? It does…until you realize that God has given us tools to fight those lies. That’s what this blog entry is all about.
I did a Bible study several years back, and while what I’m gonna share isn’t the direction the author had taken it, I’m gonna use a portion of the study to help us work through the lies we tell ourselves.
Take a minute and read Genesis 3:8-11 below:
“8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?“
In this passage there are two main questions I want to focus on. They are the questions that God asked Adam and Eve. I’ve underlined them in the passage.
- Where are you? (Genesis 3:9)
- Who told you that? (Genesis 3:11)
PAUSE TO PONDER why God would have asked those questions when He already knew the answers?
Hint: why does a teacher ask questions on a test when he knows the answer?
Because the teacher wants to make sure the student knows the answer. God asked Adam and Eve questions to make sure they discover the answers. Let’s allow God to ask those two questions to us today.
QUESTION ONE ~~ WHERE ARE YOU?
Adam and Eve spent time with God on a daily basis, so when they didn’t show up, He called, “Where are you?” He knew where they were, but He wanted them to realize where they were and why. God wants the same for us.
PAUSE TO PONDER these questions. I would suggest even grabbing your journal and answering them in there.
- Where are you, emotionally?
- Are you in a good place? Tell Him about it so He can rejoice with you. Be specific, like you would share with someone who really cares about you.
- Are you just existing…going through the motions and wishing for something, anything…to make you happy? Tell Him.
- Are you in a desperate place, a miserable place, a painful place, a lonely place? Tell Him.
- Where are you in your journey with God?
- What do you believe about the Bible?
- I’m not asking what you’ve been taught about the Bible. What do you really believe?
- Do you believe the words of God have power?
- Do you read your Bible every day?
- Do you read the Bible so you can check it off your “to do” list?
- Do you read it to know stuff about the Bible, or do you read it to get to know more about the Person of God?
- Example: if you’re going on a date, are you going in order to be able to say you went on a date, OR are you going on a date to spend time with and get to know the guy? It’s the same thing with reading the Bible. If you’re just reading to “check it off your list”, then you will not really get to know the Person of God. You’ll never get to know God well enough to fall in love with Him.
- Do you talk to God every day? I mean really talk to Him, honestly.
- Example: what if you went on a date but you and your date didn’t talk. How well would you get to know Him? Would you learn about his likes and dislikes, what makes him happy and sad? It’s the same with God.
- What do you believe about the Bible?
- Where are you with your own self image?
- What do you truly think about yourself? (I know that there is a danger in the whole “self-love” movement. That’s not what I’m getting at here. Let’s filter what we think about ourselves through Scripture.)
- Jesus says the two greatest commandments are to “love the Lord, your God…” and to love “your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Well, we get to know and love God by consistently spending time in His Word and in conversation with Him. That’s easy enough, but how do I love my neighbor as myself when I don’t even like myself? To love my neighbor as myself, I first have to acknowledge what I truly feel about myself. Then I must compare that to what God says about me in His word. The final step is then making the CHOICE to believe what God says over what I feel.
- What do you truly think about yourself? (I know that there is a danger in the whole “self-love” movement. That’s not what I’m getting at here. Let’s filter what we think about ourselves through Scripture.)
Deuteronomy 33:26-27 “There is no one like the God of Israel, Who rides on the heavens to help you...the eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…He will drive out your enemy before you…” EVEN WHEN MY ENEMY IS ME!
Deuteronomy 33:29 “Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper, and your glorious sword…Your enemies will cower before you.”
James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and He will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
John 8:31-32 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH will make you FREE.”
John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life.”
~~KEY TRUTH~~
“3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do.
4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons,
to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning
and to destroy false arguments.
5 We destroy every proud obstacle
that keeps people from knowing God.
We are taking every thought captive
and teaching them to obey Christ.”
~~2 Corinthians 10:3-5~~
The key to victory is found in the spiritual realm. Stinkin’ thinkin’ needs to be identified and it needs to be taken captive and taught to obey what the Truth says.
~~TAKE NOTE~~
When someone is taken captive,
it doesn’t mean they no longer exist.
What it does mean is that they no longer
have the ability to move about freely.
Remember I said that troubling thoughts and negative self-talk don’t disappear. As long as we are living, breathing human beings, we will battle our thoughts and feelings. But it’s imperative that we not get discouraged, but instead realize we have a choice as to what we do with the thoughts we have.
QUESTION TWO ~~ WHO TOLD YOU THAT?
Read Genesis 3:1-13 below.
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11 “WHO TOLD YOU THAT you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”
Let’s look at the question “Who told you that?”
- Who was it that told them a lie that led to their sinful choice?
- The serpent, of course (3:1)
- What tactic did he use?
- Doubt—”did God really say” (3:1)
- Contradiction—”you will not surely die” (3:4)
- Appeal to pride—”God knows you will be like Him” (3:5)
- Where did the “choice” begin? “The woman… saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it.” (3:6)
- She reasoned!! She saw the fruit was good for food, pleasing to the eye, desirable for gaining wisdom…THEN she took it and ate”.
- The choice began with her THOUGHTS.
Every defeat in the thought life of a child of God can be traced back to the two questions we looked at in this blog.
- “Where are you?” in your walk with God? Are you knowing stuff about God, or are you really knowing HIM?
- “Who told you that?” How do my thoughts and feelings align with what God says? How have you been deceived? Note 3:13: “the serpent deceived me”.
You’ve got to school your own beliefs, and to do that you need to make sure your thoughts and feelings line up with what GOD says.
Unless you can answer the question,
“Who told you that?”
with “GOD DID”,
it’s a faulty belief system.
HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES
- Who are you now that you have come to Christ? I’m a new creation
- Who told you that? My pastor
- Who told him that? God, I think
- Where did God tell him that? 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Tell me a few things about yourself.
- Well, I’m stupid.
- I have the worst luck.
- I’m fat.
- I’m sloppy.
- I’m terrible with money.
- I’m homely.
- I’m plain and just not pretty.
- I don’t have common sense.
- I’m a failure who has nothing to be proud of.
- Who told you that?
- My mom.
- My “friends”.
- My mate.
- My classmates.
- Me.
IF IT DOESN’T MATCH UP, CHAIN IT UP!!
Every “Who told you that?” needs to be traced back to God in the Bible, and if it doesn’t match up, chain it up—limit its freedom to roam around in your head—and line it up with what Jesus says.
DECEPTION IS ALWAYS A THIEF!
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.”
~~John 10:10~~
APPLY IT. This is the point where the rubber meets the road. If you spent time getting to this point in a longer blog post like this, then I trust that you are serious about gaining control over your thought life. So, grab a journal and take some time answering the following questions. And please, feel free to reach out if you are having trouble at any point in this process.
You are not alone in this journey.
I am right here with ya.
I am praying for you!
CONSIDER.
- What do I really think about myself? (Where are you?”). Take your time and really be honest with yourself.
- Where did that belief start? (“Who told you that?”). Identify where that stinkin’ thinkin’ originated and replace it with Truth!
- Search for Scriptures that refute the lies you are telling yourself. Commit them to memory.
- Ask the Spirit to DAILY, moment by moment, to give ya a poke when you are being deceived by stinkin’ thinkin’.
CONFESS every wrong thought to God and tell Him that you choose to believe what HE says over what you feel. Quote the Scripture you have memorized back to Him. (“Lord, I have been guilty of _____________, but from now on I choose to believe what you say in your Word – _______________”.)
R E M E M B E R !!
If you can’t answer the question,“Who told you that?”
with “GOD DID!”, then you have some work to do!
LET’S PRAY: Lord, nobody but You defines who and what I am! You are my Creator, my Savior, and my heavenly Daddy. Your Word tells me that You love me beyond measure. I truly want to see myself through Your eyes. Please, by the power of Your Spirit and by the Truth of Your Word, help me to identify the lies and replace them with Your Truth.
I pray that when I get discouraged, Your Spirit would remind me of the truths we went over today. I pray that I would grow to know You more and more, and that as I do, my love for You would drive me to You. Your Word tells me in Isaiah 26:3, that You will keep me in perfect peace as I choose to think Your thoughts and trust who YOU say I am.
Help me every day to examine my thoughts in light of Your truth, and if they don’t match up, then chain ‘em up!
I love you God and pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
One Comment on “Stinkin’ Thinkin’”
Wow! Just wow! I could share this with every female I know…and some males. Why are we so hard on ourselves? Why do we put so much stock in what other people think? It can really mess with your head if you’re not equipped to fight it. Your insight is so poignant and relatable.