I was reminded this week of how powerful the mind really can be. It can tell you that you can’t achieve something that you can due to negative self talk or doubt. Something someone said to you years ago might still echo loudly in your head. Fear can make you make choices that go totally against what you really want to do or achieve. The mind is a powerful thing.
As many of you know, I often quote the Bible but like quoting movies and music too. One of my favorite lines in a movie is from Pretty Woman when Richard Gere (Edward) and Julia Roberts (Vivian) are lying in the bed together. She says, “People put you down enough, you start to believe it.” Edward responds, “I think you are a very bright, very special woman.” Vivian says, “The bad stuff is easier to believe. You ever notice that?”
It is true. The truth might be right in front of your eyes, but your mind, sometimes helped out by the enemy, can make you believe something totally different from the truth. I think a great scripture to commit to memory is Proverbs 23:7 (KJV), “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” It is a scripture I quote often to my children. If they say they can’t do an activity that I know they are perfectly capable of, I will quote this scripture. My other favorite is to personify the word “can’t” and say, “Can’t never could, because Can’t never tried to do anything.” The mind can surely be a powerful thing.
When I was a little girl hanging out with my dad and my older brother, my brother would say to my dad, “We the fellas, ain’t we Dad? We the fellas.” Over and over again I heard the phrase. Well, God did not see fit to give me boy parts which I am thankful for. Therefore, I was not a fella. Finally, at some point I had had enough. So, when my brother said his famous phrase one more time, I said, “Yeah, you da fellas, but I da boss.”
Boy, how I love that spunky little girl! Everything in my brother’s statement, whether intentional or not (we were young), said you are different. You are outside the group. You are not the same as us. I could have believed it. I could have thought I was less than I was, but I didn’t. I fought for the fact that I was something. I did belong, and I was the boss! I love that girl and am so glad she still lives on inside of me.
The mind is a powerful thing, but we must hang on to the truth. What is the truth. The truth is:
Great encouragement!