“My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, no one can snatch
them out of my hand” (John 10: 27-28 NIV).
Who
do you listen to? I know there might be some people who are reading
this who listen to an inner voice that says: “You are stupid”,
“You are fat” “You will never amount to anything”, “Nobody
loves you”, You will never succeed”. If you are a Christian you
need to know that these words are not what Christ would want you to
dwell on. You are an heir to the kingdom of God. “The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now
if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with
Christ” (Romans 8:16-17 NIV).
You
can listen to the voice of darkness, Satan, or choose to listen to
the Holy Spirit. Satan is spoken of in the Bible as being the
darkness. Jesus spoke to Paul about this. “I am sending you to them
(Gentiles) to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive
forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by
faith in me” (Acts 26:17-18 NIV). Satan would love for you to
wallow in misery and self-condemnation. But the Holy Spirit within
you will fill your soul with hope and peace. “May the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may
overflow with hope by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13 NIV).
When
you start saying negative things about yourself, you are in darkness.
When Jesus was being tempted by Satan, he rebuked him. Jesus said,
“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your
God, and serve him only” (Matthew 4:10 NIV). I would suggest that
you say the same thing to the devil.
“Away
from me, Satan. The Bible says I am an heir of God. You have no
authority over me because I am sealed with the Holy Spirit”. You
must be the one to change your thinking. Nobody can do that for you.
Dear
Lord,
Please
help me when my thoughts are full of negativity about myself. I know
it is only the devil trying to convince me I am worthless. I know
that he is wrong. Help me to immediately rebuke him, and believe the
truth that only you can give me; that I am a child of God. Let your
light in me shine before others so that they will see your love
through my actions.
In
Jesus’ name, Amen
