Why You Need to Learn to Speak Well of Yourself
Photo by Candice Picard
When you listen to yourself speak, what do you hear?
Do you hear positive, truth-filled words that accurately proclaim who you are as a child of God?
Or do you hear words that belittle you and tell everyone around you that you think you’re a failure?
We need to learn to speak well of ourselves simply because we belong to God, and when we choose to see ourselves the way He does, we’re agreeing with Him. He’s the One who says we’re an accepted member of His family—a beloved son or daughter who pleases Him and is righteous in His sight.
Let’s worship God in an easy, practical way—by agreeing with what He says! “Yes, Father. I am Your child, and I’m holy in Your sight.”
Here are three Bible-based thoughts that will encourage you to embrace God’s truth about who you are. Speak these statements out loud over your life:
1. I am a beloved child of God. Shame has no place in my life because Jesus saved me out of darkness and brought me into the light of God, where I now live. He exchanged my sin for His righteousness, and I am completely free of the chains of darkness.
But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. (Rom. 4:5 NLT)
An unfortunate thing happens whenever someone struggles with shame. Somehow—even though this person was created in the image of God—shame starts to seem like the best choice to them. “This is just what serving the Lord feels like. I’m worthless and not good enough. I deserve to feel this way.”
Shame is like a heavy cloak that weighs us down until we can barely move.
But as we start to realize there is no shame for the children of God—as we start to accept what HE says instead of what our feelings say—we get to throw off this burden He didn’t give us and run with epic freedom.
Ask God to show you every time you’re about to speak negatively about yourself. Learn to let your speech reflect His righteousness inside you, because that’s who you really are.
2. I don’t have to prove my worth to God! I don’t have to do anything to earn His approval. It is finished. He counts me as righteous—right now.
When God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Rom. 4:23–24 NLT)
The righteousness of God is a simple matter. It is freely given and we can’t earn it.
Many of us feel a subtle pressure to perform well—“or else,” but that isn’t our reality. Not anymore. We were bought at a price, and our whole world changed. We are now light in God (Eph. 5:8 NASB).
If you’re having trouble accepting your righteousness in God’s sight, find out why. You may want to speak to a Christian mentor who loves you and can help you see the truth.
3. God has taken away my sin completely and transformed me into His righteousness. He is my purity, and when I look at myself, I see His righteousness, not the mistakes of the past.
For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him. (2 Cor. 5:21 TPT)
The next time you start to feel worthless, hopeless, or like a failure, stop those thoughts in their tracks and turn your focus back to your heavenly Father, who knows who and what you are more than you do.
Just as you can take your thoughts captive, you can take your words captive (see 2 Cor. 10:5). In those moments when you feel you can’t say anything good about yourself, turn your gaze to God in worship. Speak praise and thankfulness to Him until the heaviness lifts.
Before you go!
Some of us have a hard time hearing God’s “feedback” about who we are. He’s saying, “You’re wonderful because I made you,” but we’re speaking the opposite over ourselves instead: “I’m worthless and have no hope.”
What is God saying about you that maybe you aren’t listening to?
· You are worth so much to Him (John 3:16).
· You are precious to Him (Isa. 43:4).
· He is so happy about you that He sings with joy (Zeph. 3:17).
· You are His beloved (Col. 3:12).
The list is endless, O much-loved child of God!
Here’s our prayer for you this week:
Father God,
For those readers who are struggling with shame, we ask that You would draw close to them and begin to show them who they are in Your sight. Please pull off the blinders trying to keep them trapped, and give them perfect vision this year, so they can see what’s true.
Shame does not tell the truth! You are the answer to every point of pain inside us. Please fill our readers with faith and courage, and help them look into Your kind gaze whenever they feel broken and confused. Your love is big enough for them, and You have good plans for them.
— The BTO Team
Interested in more? Check out some of our other prayers and declarations:
· Making the Lord Your Refuge: Psalm 18
· Declarations for Connecting with God’s Love for You
· How to Make Great Choices in 2020
· Connecting with God When You’re in Pain
· Declarations to Help You Conquer Shame
For more information on sex, marriage, and finding the person who is right for you, get a copy of Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more. You can also order the book in Spanish.