SELF-TALK MATTERS

Self-Talk Matters
Alice Smith 
  
Even as we see the economy and world systems crumble around us, we, as Christians can maintain the correct self talk and stay in an attitude of prayer and trusting God in every area of our lives. We shouldn’t be surprised with what is happening around us, for in the last days Scripture says, “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be famines, (loss of wages), and pestilences, and earthquakes, in various places, All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:7-8). Every waking moment, people talk to themselves. Surprised? Did you think you were the only one? The question isn't "do you talk to yourself?" but rather "what are you telling yourself?" Do you feed yourself the truth, or are you fooling yourself? Will you walk through our nation’s crisis as a victim or a victor? The choice is ours.
I have a close girlfriend who audibly talks to herself, all the time. When I took a prayer team to Egypt some years ago, she roomed with me, and every morning while putting on makeup she giggled and chattered. I said, "You don't need our conversation--you’re having fun all by yourself!"
Psychologists tell us that the average person speaks 40,000-50,000 things to self daily, 70% or more of which are negative. However, the most exceptional professional athletes are said to reduce their self-talk to 20,000 or fewer statements, and less than 50% are negative: focused positive thinking and self-talk is critical if you are to move from victimization to victory. Why? Because "faith cometh by hearing" (Rom. 10:17). Your belief system is built on what you think and, what you say to yourself, and not just what you say aloud!
 
If television commercials and other forms of repetitive advertisement weren’t effective in selling products, no one would pay (much less pay a great amount) for them. Ask yourself, "What am I continually advertising and selling to my subconscious mind (my inner man) via self-talk? Your subconscious has no power of judgment; it simply records data and experiences as they happen and then believes as true what it’s told. Abuse, specifically, is part of a negative marketing campaign the devil designed to sell you on your personal failure.
 
This is why the words of your mouth (what you say to others), the meditations of your heart (what you say to yourself), and the words of others (who you listen to), whether positive or negative, greatly determine what you think, what you do, and who you'll eventually become. Your self-talk should always be acceptable in God's sight.
 
You're never unemployed: You'll always have the job of being your mind’s gatekeeper. You determine what you'll allow yourself to see, to hear, and to think. You're the one who must learn God's Word if you intend to challenge and capture any thought contrary to His will and bring it into line with truth (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
 
God holds you personally accountable for the temple He has given you to care for. So avoid negative friends and companions. Filter the movies you see, the music you hear, the downloads you watch, the biased media you hear, and the magazines and books you read.
 
The Effects of Attitude
 
It's been said, "your attitude determines your altitude." Your attitude definitely affects your relationship with God and others, and it unquestionably affects your own health--mental, emotional, and even physical. Possibly nothing can adversely affect your attitude in the same way as does abuse.
 
Abused people often struggle with forgiving their abuser, themselves, and even God. The negative nature of thoughts, feelings of unforgiveness, and bitterness sometimes produces physical illness and disease—remember, those might be understandable responses, but they’re unacceptable for us. When Paul taught us to observe the Lord's Supper, he said that sin could cause sickness and even death (see 1 Cor. 11:27-32).
 
Perhaps one reason your attitude can cause sickness, disease, and other forms of torment is that it also determines the level of your stress. Some people "stuff" their stress, quietly bearing it while others "shout" their stress, outwardly venting it. In either case, stress is a killer that accelerates and intensifies when our focus is anywhere other than where it needs to be. The Message paraphrase of Proverbs 3:5-8 says:
 
“Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!”
If you choose to live a glass-half-empty life, you are doomed to disillusion. The natural law of attraction guarantees it: You find in life what you're looking for, not what you're looking at. No doubt, you attract what you are! If your perspective on life, including your past, is miserable, you will stay miserable. It's all about your perception.
      10% of what makes you who you are is what's happened to you.
      90% of what makes you who you are is how you've chosen to respond to it.
 
If you add to an unhealed past a bad attitude, the common pressures of everyday life, blue Mondays, parenting difficulties, and/or bumper-to-bumper traffic, you can be driven to despair. And never forget that demonic spirits work overtime to assure it.
 
Victims of abuse have negative emotions regarding their abusers, but the most complex and difficult problem to solve is their feelings concerning their selves--feelings that often have no basis in fact. If you continue responding to life's ups and downs according to your past experiences, rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to direct your responses, you will only strengthen any negative stronghold within.
 
Victims often harbor feelings ranging from disappointment and anger to hatred and rage toward their abusers. Rage is unrestrained anger combined with fear (anger out of control). Scripture teaches us to abhor anything evil; rage is wrong. Healing begins when one can differentiate between the act and the actor--it is possible to hate what was done and not hate the doer. In fact, we’re taught to not even let the sun go down on our wrath. Why? Because when we let anger simmer overnight, we give place to the enemy. Practice this today….