I'm Mental

Anyone in Christ is a new creation.
The old is gone, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

So, tonight at small group we talked about how the mean words and biting criticism we received during our formative years have helped to shape us into the adults we have become. A painful childhood is a pretty common story, I think. Adam and Eve are probably the only people in history to not identify with such trauma.

Mark Twain once said that life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings but mostly of the storm of thought that is forever flowing through one's head. I am becoming more and more aware of the libraries of negative thoughts queued up and continually looping in my brain, but it wasn't always so clear to me. I am beginning to see how over time, this corrupt data has built a dangerous altar of deception that has drastically reshaped the skyline of my reality into one of discouragement and fear. (Wow, that was really overdramatic - but true).

One of my favorite movie scenes is from the film Pretty Woman. Julia Roberts plays a hooker named Vivian and Richard Gere her wealthy john, named Edward. They have a strange and unparalled relationship that grows into a friendship and later, a love. One night they are lying next to each other and Edward asks Vivian how she ended up as a prostitute. She tells him her hardluck story which involved family and "friends" telling her she was a nobody and would amount to nothing, and she admits she fulfilled that prophecy. Then Edward says to her, "I think you are a very bright, very special woman with a lot of potential." And she says to him, "Ever notice the bad stuff is easier to believe?"

Truer words were never spoken. The bad stuff is so much easier to believe. In my bible study, Beth Moore says, "Often satan works this way: he watches your life and figures out what you are scared you will become and then spends the rest of his time finding ways to 'confirm' that is exactly what you are." John 8:44 reiterates that lies are satan's native language and that he is the father of lies. I have wasted so much time believing lies that it makes me angry. But I am also hopeful, because I know this era is coming to a close. I know my fears don't have to be my destiny.

Our small group leader said knowing the Bible is helpful in this struggle because it deconstructs the negative ideas we hold about who we are and rebuilds us as new creations of Christ. In this way, it becomes a weapon in our lives and helps us to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Rick Renner says we have to take charge of our minds and learn how to speak to ourselves rather than listen to ourselves. I am learning to speak God's Word to myself. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. 28 years of habit can be hard to break.