Topic: Tips for a Healthy Self-Image [Joyce Meyer Devotional 17 August 2021]
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Tips for a Healthy Self-Image
– by Joyce Meyer
Do you know it’s God will for you to have a healthy self-image? Do you know He desires for you to truly love yourself for who you are—your personality, your gifts and talents, and even your quirks?
I’ll admit, there was a time when I didn’t like myself at all. I was terribly insecure, and I constantly wanted to be like other people. I was focused on everything that was wrong with me, and it was keeping me stuck!
You see, we have an enemy, Satan, who wants to constantly fill our minds with negative thoughts. He wants us to continuously focus on our weaknesses, meditate on them, then speak them out of our mouths.
He’ll play on our insecurities and, like a broken record, bombard us with the same things, over and over. He’ll tell us things like:
“You’re always messing things up—how can God love you?”
“You’ll never be as good as your brother or sister.”
Or maybe you’ve heard this one: “You can’t do that—you’re not smart enough!” He wants us to feel bad about ourselves, then compare ourselves with everybody else.
But here’s the problem: If we don’t recognize his lies and replace them with truth from God’s Word, we begin to believe these things about ourselves and begin saying them out of our own mouths.
I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of people who were repeatedly told they were dumb or stupid growing up. Their parents convinced them they would “never amount to anything in life.” And regardless of how intelligent or gifted they were, they had to deal with this broken record in their minds for years. For some, it even held them back for a while—it took time to replace the lies with the truth.
You see, our thoughts and words are incredibly important. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as …he [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he… (AMPC). Proverbs 18:21 also tells us that, Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life] (AMPC).
It’s been proven that we believe what we think and say about ourselves more than what anyone else says about us.
That’s why it’s so important for us to purposely meditate on the good things about ourselves. We need to actively look for the good, then choose to think about it and speak it out of our mouths.
What Are You Saying?
If you’re familiar with my teachings, you know I share a lot of messages on the power of our thoughts and words. And it’s about so much more than “positive thinking”; it’s about replacing the lies with truth of God’s Word.
You see, God’s Word is powerful, and it has the ability to renew our minds and help us see ourselves the way God sees us (see Romans 12:2). The more we know what God says, the more we will recognize the lies of the enemy and be able to replace them with the truth.
For instance, if the enemy (or anyone else) tries to convince you that you’re unlovable, remind him what God says about you. Think and say things like:
“I am a child of God and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves me and cares about every single detail of my life. Before I was ever born, He approved of me. He has a great plan for my life!” (See Psalm 139; Romans 8:38-39; Jeremiah 1:5; 29:11.)
Learning to confess God’s Word out loud has been life-changing for me. Confession means “to say the same thing as.” It’s so important for us to say what God says and speak His Word—not what our feelings, other people or our circumstances are telling us.
I encourage you to take time to get to know what God’s Word says about you, then speak it out of your mouth. Truthfully, it is one of the most powerful things you can do to change your self-image and begin seeing yourself in a positive way.
When the Lord first began teaching me about this, I sat down and made a list of confessions based on Scripture. By the time I was finished, I had more than 100 individual confessions! I began speaking them out loud twice a day to get His truth deep down inside of me.
For instance, I used to deal with a lot of guilt. So, one of my confessions was (and still is): “I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ” (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).
When I first began speaking this out, I truly didn’t believe it—I didn’t feel right with God. However, over the weeks and months and years, God used His Word to change me and help me believe that I am right with Him.
Speaking God’s Word is something I continue to do because I have seen the results in my own life. The Word works, and it has the power to defeat the lies of the enemy! (See Hebrews 4:12.)
It’s a spiritual truth: When we talk about ourselves in a positive way, we will begin to see ourselves in a healthy, positive way. We can improve our own opinions about ourselves simply by the way we speak!
I really challenge you to take this message to heart. You can begin by spending even just five minutes each morning—even in your car on the way to work— to declare positive things about yourself, your life and your day. You can combat the “broken record” and replace it with words that will produce a healthy self-image.
As you do, the truth of God’s Word will overcome the lies and you’ll begin to see yourself in a whole new way.
Remember, God loves you, and one of His greatest desires is for you to love yourself. He has a personalized plan for your life that only you can fulfill. He wants to give you the confidence to walk boldly into your future, loving your life and loving the person He created you to be.