Last week I discussed the importance of not allowing our emotions to dictate our decisions.  I made the statement:  So, emotions are good BUT emotions are many times used by the enemy.  He knows that if we feel something long enough, we will be tempted to make it a belief.  If we make it a belief, we will make choices that can change the course of our life.  Like it or not, we live out of our belief systems.

Early in our marriage Tim and I were in the middle of a conflict.  I was being fleshly and I said to him, “You do not love me.”   I remember being in horrible pain that night.  Tim said, “Rebekah, it’s what you are believing that’s causing your pain.  If you believe I don’t love you, you will hurt.  But I do love you.  You have a choice; to believe me or not.”  God has used my husband to speak profound truth into my life many times over the years.   He’s right!  God has pointed out to me over and over, when I am in pain, that it is because of what I am believing.

Many times counselee’s will recite to me their list of reasons why they believe  someone is rejecting them.  Good grief, if I believed all the things this person listed, I would not be able to get out of the bed in the mornings.  I will often ask them a question.   “Do you KNOW all of those things are completely accurate?”   We must learn to say, maybe…..maybe not, at the end of a definitive sentence we make about someone’s motives.  Because the truth is, we don’t know the motives in their heart.  Another major contributing factor is that we all hear and see things through our personal grid.  Many times it will skew the accuracy of the event or words.   If I become convinced that ALL these negative things about them or myself are true; I will be in horrible pain.

You may think, “Come on Rebekah, sometimes you really are rejected.”  I, of all people, know that this is sometimes the case.   I’m just saying most of the time I allow the enemy to convince me that numerous things are true when one or two may actually be true.   Remember, every thought that enters your mind is NOT your thought.  You have an enemy that hates you and wants to destroy you.  I Peter 5:8 –  “Stay alert!  Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”

What if I believe something about myself that is contrary to my true identity?  Do you have any definitive sentences that you make about yourself?  “I am lazy.” ” I am ugly.”  “Something is wrong with me.”  “I am a mess.”  “I am ______” (you fill in the blank)   If you allow yourself to think these thoughts; again, you will be in horrible pain and will continue to make choices consistent with your belief.  I had a seasoned counselor tell me years ago.  “Rebekah, if something negative about yourself or other’s come into your mind, DON’T let it come out of your mouth.”  When the lie comes out of our mouth, it forces the lie deeper into our belief system and heart.

But guess what?  When we let the TRUTH come out of our mouth, the same thing happens.  We will become convinced of the truth.  And what is the truth?  OUR BEHAVIOR DOES NOT DETERMINE OUR IDENTITY!  AND WHAT OTHER’S SAY OR THINK DOES NOT DETERMINE OUR IDENTITY!  OUR SPIRIT DETERMINES OUR IDENTITY!  You ARE holy, righteous, of sound mind, adequate, loving, forgiving and complete IN HIM.  WHY?  Because what is true of Jesus is true of you!  BUT, you may say, I don’t act that way.  Why not?  Could it be because you are believing you are NOT holy, righteous, of sound mind, adequate, loving, forgiving and complete in HIM?  Because our behavior follows our beliefs.  And our beliefs follow our emotions UNLESS we verbally reject the emotion and potential belief and choose to recite the truth.  Yes, recite the truth!  Isn’t that what Jesus did in Luke 4 when He was in the wilderness?  He is showing us how to combat temptation.  There is something powerful about truth coming out of our mouths on a regular basis.  Try it!  If you are feeling negative things, recite the truth according to God’s word and see if your feelings and belief systems don’t begin to change.

I love the scripture that says, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.”  (Mark 9:24)   Now that’s being real.  Jesus understands we are human beings that need His power.  So do your part.  Set your mind on truth and reject the lies.  And cry out to Him to help you believe truth.  He knows exactly how to turn those false belief systems around.