By Ora Cook
To be freed from the negative thoughts and feelings that have plagued us most of our lives, we must first change the way we think. The Word of God says we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Which means in order to be free of all the negativity that was spoken over us, a new mind set must be developed.
We have to free ourselves from those lies that were feed into us by our parents, friends, teachers, etc. Some intentional, some not. Whether it was intentional or not, we cannot stay in this place.
The only way to defeat a lie is with the truth and the only truth that is going to set us free is God’s truth. He is our creator. He designed us perfectly and if we are going to be whole, we need to see ourselves the way He sees us and not how others view us. We need to read, study, mediate on His word to discover what He says about us and apply those truths to our lives. For example, some the statements that were constantly spoken to me caused me to feel that I could not do anything correctly. Every time something went wrong I felt it was my fault. I was scared to try new things, especially in front of other people. One of the ways I overcame this was by confronting those thoughts and feelings with the promise that God made to me which was “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
What lies have You believed? That you are not attractive; no one will want you; your success will be limited because you are a female or African American… all lies. Read, study, and mediate on the Word of God. Go through it with a fine-tooth comb. Ask God to reveal which Scriptures should be applied to your situation. If you cannot find a Scripture, use affirmations. For example, if you feel no one likes you, your affirmation can be “I am loveable, fun, and great to be around.”
However, you can’t just speak the Scriptures and affirmations a few times and think you are cured. No, you have to mediate on them. You have to really stand on their truths and believe them even if it does not feel true. After a while, you will begin to believe and act accordingly. You must develop a way to hold on and apply it to your life regardless of the circumstance. Change requires effort. Effort on your behalf to refute those negative emotions and beliefs each time they try to confront you and believe me they will confront you. The enemy has had you bound all these years, do you really think he is going to let you go just like that…NOT.