One day a couple of weeks ago, I was having a challenging morning where I seemed to have a case of butter fingers where It seemed as though I dropped everything I touched and had a general clumsiness.  I was getting a little irritated, stacking a bunch of little things and by the fourth or fifth item, the frustration was mounting. The final straw came when I bumped the diffuser off of my hair dryer and it went bouncing across the room. At that moment, I thought of my ‘not today Satan’ shirt, chuckled a bit and said out loud, ‘oh no, not today Satan, you are not going to steal my joy!’ After that my day felt less encumbered by the little things and I didn’t spiral or let it ruin my whole day. It got me thinking about the power of speaking God’s truth out loud with my voice as opposed to just my thoughts and how I have used that before and could incorporate it more into my life to help navigate life’s daily ups and downs.

When I began my recovery, one of the first things I became aware of and worked on was my constant negative self talk. As I heard others speaking about demeaning themselves and their value, I began to see the berating things I would mentally say to and about myself. I became aware of how often the enemy of my soul speaks lies to me though my thoughts that compete with the loving truth of God about my worth and circumstances. For me to see the deception, I had to gain awareness that was only possible by my willingness for God to open my ears to listen to what I was saying and my mind to be aware of what I was thinking. If someone were to hear my thoughts, would it sound like Jesus’ words, the gospel of good news? I want to learn, know and be speaking God’s word to myself all of the time, so I can interrupt my train of thought and catch myself when I think or speak things that are untrue. When my eyes are open to see when my mind and mouth do not align with God’s word, only then can I begin to call out the lies about myself and my life.

However, It is not enough to see the lies and name them, I have to use the spiritual principle of replacement by following them up with truth from God’s word. I need to confess, which in the bible means ‘to say the same thing as another,’ so my words and thoughts agree with God. It is here I can follow Jesus’ interaction with the devil as documented in Matthew 4:1-11. Three times the devil tried to tempt Jesus and every time Jesus responded back with the word of God. As I learn to respond with His word, I am finding different tools and tricks to use. For example, I may use a reference book or an internet search to find verses or sections of scripture that are opposite of what I am feeling. If I feel lonely, I look up verses about God’s constant presence. I can also personalize sections of scripture, like Psalm 91 by replacing where it says you to say I or me. Sometimes, I will read a section of scripture that reminds me of my identity like Ephesians 1. Also, one of my favorite things is to do a little digging and find nuggets of truth about me (and you) throughout the Bible and combine those little statements to make a declaration of who I am in Christ. Once I have written down these ideas and put them together I can read it anytime I seem to forget who I am. Over time, very slowly, these verses can become ingrained in my mind and as common and easy as the lies from the enemy; however, it will take self-awareness, diligence and repetition along the way.

Repeating God’s word helps it to become something I know, not just something I read. I can also improve my knowledge of the word by audibly speaking the Word of God, the truth of who God says I am not just in my head, but out loud. Proverbs 18:21 says there is the power of life and death in the tongue and when I choose to use it to speak life and truth with my voice, I can help God’s word to become more of my constant thought life. It is easier for me to memorize things I say using my voice, as opposed to just my thoughts. Today if I catch myself thinking ‘I am stupid,’ I will actually say out loud ‘that is not true, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, created in God’s image as a masterpiece,’ which are truths about me from Psalm 139. Speaking God’s truth with my voice helps me to not allow lies to become a habit or ingrained in my mind, as well as a tool to battle the enemy’s temptation. Until my frustration a couple of weeks ago, it never occurred to me that although God can speak and hear me through my thoughts, the enemy cannot read my mind. He can only hear what I am thinking when I dare to speak to him using the voice God gave me. I guess that even though I already knew that, it never occurred to me that if I wanted him to leave me alone and combat his lies, I had to speak it out.

Practice For Today

I will choose to be vigilant in my prayers to God for continued self awareness every day because it is only when I can hear what I am saying in my thoughts and in my words that I can make changes. When I am under attack, either in my circumstances or my thoughts, I will choose to stop myself and right then and there to replace the lie with the truth of God’s word and speak it out loud. When I become aware of being tempted, I will audibly push back with the power of God’s word. When I forget and allow myself to spiral or be tempted, I will give myself grace and ask God for enough awareness to speak His truth next time.

Ephesians 4:29 NIV – Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 6:17 NIV – Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.