Saturday, January 14, 2012

Tell Yourself the Truth

In San Diego last summer.
It has been a busy season and I haven't posted since November. Ted had hip resurfacing surgery to take care of some bone spurs and I have been busy helping him heal. But I love to blog and am happy to take time today to share a few thoughts.

When I started to get feeling "behind" on everything I wanted to get done, I heard a little voice say, "You'll never catch up." When I lost a few pounds and they found their way back to me, I felt discouraged. When I couldn't resolve a tricky technical issue, I started to think, "I've lost it."

But in my morning devotion time (I've been reading the Bible chronologically), I began to read Proverbs, written by the legendarily wise Solomon. The first few chapters share valuable reasons to embrace wisdom, reminding us to cry out for insight, to look for it as for silver and treasure it as the finest of rubies. Let me paraphrase: we are to search for it actively, pursue it passionately and practice it purposefully!

I thought how silly it is that I pray for wisdom and then run around trusting in other things, like popular opinion or cultural pressures... "You'll never get it. You're not good enough." How I have been missing the boat to listen to the lies of the world instead of the wisdom that God has carefully been pouring into me. I resolved to treasure the words of the Lord like the finest of rubies. I determined to let His words build me up, instead of letting other things tear me down.

I began, once again, to practice being confident in the Lord. Whenever a negative thought would enter, I would push it out by telling myself the Truth (something my counselor husband has often reminded me). As a result, what a strong, productive and wonderfully positive day I had! (I even resolved my technical issue!) As I drove home from work, the Truth poured out from my radio to me as I heard Jason Gray sing, "Remind Me Who I Am."

Sometimes when the world starts to mold us, we need a little reminder of Whose voice our souls long to hear from.

Lord, if I'm your Beloved, help me believe it and live it! I belong to you, I'm the one you love. That will be enough for anything I need to get through today. I will search for your wisdom and tell myself the Truth. I am a new creation, being transformed every day.


Have you been telling yourself the Truth?