Positive Declarations

One of the hardest things for me to hear is negative self-talk.

And I, too, have been a victim.  I get it.

But I’m learning.

Because it’s not healthy.  It’s not productive.  And it’s not from God.

Because every day you have the power to speak LIFE or DEATH to your very soul.

And if I’m being honest, I wonder, sometimes, if we’re using the words of defeat and failure as an excuse for not trying harder.  Being better. 

Because maybe it’s a safer place to be… there trapped in our doubt and self pity.

And I hear the declaration choices we speak over ourselves all the time…

“I am just not good at anything.”
“I am never on time.”
“I’m just not a morning person.”
“I can’t seem to do anything right.”
“This is just the way I am and I can’t change it.”
“It’s too late for me.”
“Nobody likes me or includes me in things.”

I see it all. the. time.

And we’ve got to stop.

Because did you know that YOU believe more of what you tell YOURSELF about yourself than you believe what OTHERS say about you?

It truly is a battlefield of the mind.

And these negative declarations are killing us.  They are destroying our self-confidence and delaying our usefulness. 

And I heard this one a couple weeks ago when I asked somebody how they were doing, “I’m getting by… just going through the motions.”

Listen, I know about hard times.  I know about discouragement and frustration and disappointment… but Jesus didn’t die for you so that you could live your life in “survival mode.”  The bible tells us that He came so that we would have life in abundance.

Abundance = overflowing fullness.

You were bought with the high price of bloodshed because He thought you worthy enough to live a life of overflowing fullness.

And all we can say sometimes in response to this elaborate gift is, “I’m getting by….”

What you say matters.

It’s why I have determined to make a positive declaration list for my life.  Positive affirmations from scripture to speak over my life daily.

Just because a thing “is” doesn’t mean it “has to be.”

“I am just not good at anything.”
Yes you are - God has graciously given gifts to each person.  GO DISCOVER what it is!
“I am never on time.”
You could be.  Make the changes necessary to alter your schedule in such a way that determines success in advance, and honors other people with your most precious commodity (and theirs): time.
“Nobody likes me or includes me in things.”
Have you made the investment of being a good friend first?  Are you becoming someone that people are naturally drawn to?  Do you go out of your way to be inconvenienced by others?  Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone?

These statements… even if they are true… do not have to define you.  I believe you truly limit your effectiveness by accepting ownership of these proclamations that are not worthy of acknowledgement.

Highlight what is good.  And intentionally invest in the amount of work it takes to remove the bad.  We must be determined to advance ourselves forward.

The choice is ours.

Positive declarations translate to a posture of determination.