Have you been wounded by someone or some thing? Do you identify yourself as a victim? For example, do you tell yourself “I am a victim of ______”? Oh, you probably don’t say that out loud to anyone, but you might be constantly thinking it. We can all fill in the blank with something because we live in a fallen world and bad things happen. My question to you is this: Does thinking of yourself as a victim empower you to improve your life or leave you feeling discouraged and defeated? How do you want to feel?
To be empowered we must focus our thoughts on positives rather than negatives. So let go of the “I am a victim” thinking and grab God’s truth “I am more than a conqueror through Him (Jesus) who loved me” (Romans 8:37, NIV). The New Living Translation states it this way, “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”
My Feb. 3 post titled “I Think I Can, I Think I Can” spoke about growing our faith through affirmations. Affirmations can also be used to pull us out of negative thought patterns. To learn more about read “Improve Your Life through Effective Affirmations,” by Laurie A. Gray. http://debralbutterfield.com/ezine/archive/Mar-Apr09/index_files/Affirmations.htm
A final word, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:6-8, NLT).
Debra L. Butterfield © 2010
A New Normal
It’s been nearly a month since I last posted. I’ve missed those little slices of conversations with you. Life has a way of steamrolling over us and flattening any plans we’ve made for ourselves. Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” I’m so glad that He has shown me the way each and every moment of the day since that heartrending day of my dad’s fatal stroke.
Life is returning to normal—a new normal, yes, but normal. When life is caving in, grasp God’s promise that he will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6) and keep a tight grip. He loves you; he’s watching over you, and he’ll work it all out (Romans 8:28).
Debra L. Butterfield © 2010 Photo by M. Reed Butterfield © 2010
Debra L. Butterfield © 2010 Photo by M. Reed Butterfield © 2010
Protect yourself from rapists. Read the May-June 2010 issue of Glory and Strength today at http://ping.fm/qVG3L
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