You Are What You Think

When I went to our youngest son’s parent-teacher conference,

his teacher told me about how shy he still was, but that he was slowly

coming around. She said that some of the parents have commented

that he is cute, but so shy. Also, that this has been said in front of

him. She told me that she asked them not to say that, because she

didn’t think he should hear it. She then told me a story about a little

girl in one of her classes who was very little for her age. Whenever

people would see her, they would say, “Oh, you’re so tiny, and so

cute.” Eventually, when people would meet this girl, she would say

her name, followed by, “I’m tiny.” This had been said so much

around her that she identified herself as tiny. The teacher mentioned

this story to me because she didn’t want our son to do the same

thing. Now this little girl most likely already felt smaller than the

other kids, but with everyone saying it reinforced it in her mind, and

she ended up defining herself by her size.

From that story we learn how important it is to watch what we

say to others. It’s also important to be very careful what we say or

think about ourselves. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his

heart, so is he.”

When I was in high school people knew I was from, what they

called back then, “a broken home” and that my real father was not in

my life. Growing up I remember someone once telling me I was

illegitimate, and I was constantly reminded of my darker skin (being

half Mexican). Now while all that was the truth, I let it sink into my

thoughts, and I let it become the focus of who I was, and who I

wasn’t. There were other factors along the way that contributed. In

my mind I was a loser because I was fatherless, and my skin was too

dark. My attitude turned very negative about myself.

I eventually took a wrong turn in my life. I chose to basically

walk away from God. I chose to do what I wanted. I was tired of

being hurt, used and abused. I was only making things worse because

now what I was doing was a slap in God’s face, and it was on

purpose. I never verbally said to God, “I don’t want to lean on you

and trust you – please don’t help me,” but my actions reflected it. I tried to fix myself the way I wanted. To be honest, sin is fun or no one would do it.

You see my thoughts were on my pain, my hurt, and myself. I

wasn’t willing to give it all to Him to handle and heal. Then the

thoughts of guilt came. In my mind I was no good, not loveable, and

not worthy.

Thank God His thoughts are higher than ours – in every way.

Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are

your ways my ways declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher

than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my

thoughts than your thoughts.”

Take a moment now and think, on average, what are your

thoughts about. Are you mostly thinking negatively about life, others

and yourself? How do you really see yourself? Do you see yourself

for who you really are in Christ’s eyes, or have you let others and

circumstances dictate what you think about yourself?

Paul in II Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “We need to bring every

thought into captivity and bring it unto obedience in Christ.” If we

are constantly in a state of jealousy, worry, and pride then how do

these things line up with the word of God, and His will for our lives?

If our children were constantly coming to us saying negative things

about others or themselves, we couldn’t take it. As parents we want

the best for our children. We want them to feel great about who they

are. If they continued to bring such destruction to themselves, most

likely they would lead a miserable life. They would never see

themselves as their parents see them.

God’s love for us is the same, but much higher. God says in

Genesis He created man in His own image, in the image of God He

created them. I John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has

lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is

what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not

know him.”

Philippians 4:8-9 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is

true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever

is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or

praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Life is hard a lot of times. We all can get caught up in negative

thinking, and worrying about finances, our children, our marriages,

careers, and many other life issues. When we fully give God our

whole lives, which means body, heart, soul and mind and let Him be

the center of it all, only then will we have peace. For every worry you

will ever have, or every negative thought you think about yourself or

others, there is a word, a positive word and answer from God in the

Bible. When we can come to the place of really knowing who we are

in God’s eyes we will never again think negatively about ourselves.

How do we get to that point you may ask? The answer is found in

the word of God. Go there and find out what God thinks about you

and how much He loves and values you.

What About You?

1. Is it easier to be negative or to dive into God’s word for the

truth?

2. Are you willing to do the hard work and apply God’s truth to

your life?

From God's Garden Tools by Gina Burns