I don’t know about you, but often I have a narrative running in my head that tells me “I’m not enough” for this work I feel I’ve been called to do.
Have you ever had that feeling or thought? It’s like a constant chatter running in the back of my head. Others may have the statements, “I am not good enough.” Or “I’ve had enough”. Guilt, shame, fear and anger show up in many guises. However God reminds us:
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 CSB
From that statement, He reminds us that we are His workmanship. He doesn’t make junk! We are to remind ourselves that we’re His creation.
Take a step back and ask yourself, “What do I need to do to get to a place where I know I am His workmanship?” What would it take to replace the lies I tell myself with truth?
Here are three possibilities:
Become an observer of your own thinking.
Before you can tackle any lies you are facing, you have to be aware of them. How do you answer the question-
“How do I see myself or feel about myself?”
What is the chatter going on in your head? Jot down your thoughts each time you ask that question. Notice the patterns over the next few days. No judgments here.
Spend time in silence and solitude.
This is one of the hardest things for me to do. As I come to the quiet, I imagine sitting in a magnificent, beautiful place. Where might that be for you? For me, it’s a beautiful mountain meadow. I imagine myself there, blue skies, green grass with wildflowers, sunshine, snow-capped mountain peaks. I quiet my soul in my imaginary meadow and wait for Jesus to come so we can have a conversation.
Have you done that before, imagined a beautiful place to meet with Jesus? Friends I have meet with Him by a river, a lake, the beach- wherever you feel you can come to be peaceful and calm.
As you meet with Jesus at your place of choice, imagine having a conversation with Him. Take your thoughts and feelings about yourself to Him. Then ask Him the question, “How do You see me? “ Listen for His answer.
His answer to me recently was that He made me as I am. He also reminded me that I am to be nurturing myself. He also reminded me that I am His beloved. I don’t need to believe any lie that says I’m not enough.
I had to get into silence and solitude to hear His quiet voice to me.
Practice what you hear
Whatever conversations you have during your silence and solitude time will take practice. Insights are one thing. Following through and putting the transformation into practice are something else.
For me, I am mulling over what it looks like to nurture myself. What is it that I need? I have decided I need to stay more consistently connected to God through praying the hours. That means I stop for prayer, morning, noon and evening. I decided to set my phone alarm to ring at 5:45 am, 11:40 am and 8:45 pm to remind me to take even a moment to pray.
I am in a 30-Day Challenge to pray so I am getting a morning prayer reminder. At the noon time slot, I plan to do a breathe prayer, such as Lord Jesus keep me focused on you – that’s all. And for my evening prayer time, I plan to read a Psalm from my One Year Bible. I’ll let you know next week how my week went.
The Take Away
What lies are you hearing? Do you even know what is rumbling beneath the surface? I encourage you to take time today and become an observer of your thoughts. What are you saying to yourself?
Once you find out those running thoughts, find your quiet imaginary spot so you can talk to Jesus about those thoughts and feelings. How truthful are they? Or are they lies?
Finally, once you have those conversations with Jesus, what is one thing you can do this week to begin to negate the lies you have swirling in your head?
I would love to hear how your time with Jesus goes. Please feel free to comment below. We’re on this journey together. You can be free of those lies!
Nancy Booth is a certified spiritual director. She walks alongside women who are seeking God’s fingerprints in their lives and want more awareness of what their own true identity is. She helps women shed hurry, worry and disconnect as they seek to hear God’s voice in everyday living.