Day 253 - Self Talk

Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.

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"Debilitating self-criticism is what makes it possible for those of us caught in victim thinking to move in ways that just don’t make sense."

As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 136.

Have you ever stopped to listen to the "self talk" going through your brain? I don't think I'm the only one who has a voice resonating in my head at times. That voice sounds an awful lot like mine. Often times, that voice is saying things about me that make victim thinking really easy to give in to. It is when our self talk takes us to that place were it seems like we will never be able to measure up to some elusive standard, that our behavior becomes something that can be victimizing at times. 

Our self talk can be so tricky to discern. Often, what we are hearing is a result of some thoughts that have been placed in our heads through our family of. Other times, our culture puts that thought in our heads. Then there those challenging circumstances that have made it possible for our self talk to take us down paths that just don't make sense at times. What ever the cause, that little voice in our head needs to be told to just "shut up" from time to time. 

That voice needs to be quieted when it is bent on repeating statements that, in light of what God says about us, simply aren't true. Letting lies be what shapes the behavior of a victor is what makes victim thinking take over in our lives. 

What are the lies that we need to listen for? I try to pay close attention to the "always" and "never" kinds of statements. When I hear things like, "I will never amount to anything", or, "I always screw things up", I know that I had better be paying attention. Those two statements are in direct opposition to what God says about me. If I am the victor God says I am, then how can my worth or my ability ever be anything less than what He wants for my life? 

Sure, life does an amazing job of making it so that what we do often can be viewed in ways to make us question our worth or our ability. We aren't prefect people so why do we expect perfect results in all we do. That's the danger of connecting our circumstances to who we are. When things are going well, that voice in our heads might make us think too highly of ourselves. When things take a turn for the worse, that little voice might make us think too little of our position in this world. Our self talk really plays a big role in how our behavior reflects the victor status in our lives. 

Here's what The Bible says about our self talk.

Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Proverbs 4:23 (GNT)

Simple verse, packed with profound wisdom. It starts with the words, "Be careful..." In the original language, this word had a lot to do with posting a guard. It is like you are to hire a body guard to watch over what you think. That body guard needs to know who the good guys are and who are the bad guys. Only the good gets let in while the bad is turned away at the door. When we are being careful we are guarding against letting the negative self talk, that is in direct opposition to what God says about us, linger for too long.

The end of today's reading is just as profound. Our life is shaped by what we think. It has often been said that, "You are what you eat." The same can be said about our thought life. We do what we think! In other words, life becomes like what we allow to live and grow in our heads.

This isn't a particularly spiritual concept. Although this verse was written several thousands of years ago, the concept is one that has been adopted and applied in the secular world for many years now. The best of the motivational speakers all believe in and preach on the fact that our thought life is the key to the kind of life we lead. Small fortunes are spent, year in and year out, on programs built around what our reading is saying today; change your thinking and you will change your life.

So what is it that we are to think that will help us live out this life as the victor God calls us to be? Here's a small list of thoughts we need to be hearing in our heads every moment of our day.

• God is a good God - Even in the bad times, God's goodness is something we can trust in. 
• Evil will not prevail - In light of all the horrific things we see happening in the world, God will not be beaten by evil. Good will always out shine bad even when tragedies make it hard to see God at all. 
• God is pleased with us - It isn't what we do that makes God pleased. It is what God has done that makes His pleasure with us possible. 
• We are of worth to this God - God sees something in us that is so valuable and desirable to Him. It has nothing to do what we do that makes us of value. It is who we are. 
• We are Children of an all-powerful, all-knowing King - Our status isn't based on how successful we are in this world. Our status is based on who God is and what He says about us. 
• We are righteous, blameless and without fault - We are this way because of what God has done for us, not because we are able to prove these qualities by what we do. 
• We are purposed and of value - God has a plan. Even when things look pretty scary on our end, God is hard at work making everything we experience of worth in His Kingdom Building Plan
• We are not alone - God's presence is always there. Even when we think it isn't, God's presence is there in ways that make it possible for us to be the light in a dark and hurting world. 

Each of these statements are more than just my opinion. They are fact based on what God says in His word. These are the kinds of thoughts we need to have as part of our self talk in order for victor living to be something we can attain to. It is when we are listening to the negative self talk that comes our way that our behavior becomes something that makes what we think such a victimizing event for those around us. 

What's going through your head right now? If it is anything that is other than what God thinks about you then you are thinking too highly of yourself or to lowly. Put up your guard. Let your thoughts be what shapes your actions today. All you can be today needs to spring from what God says about you. Let the your head be filled with God's words of encouragement as you go about living out your victor status today.