Friday, March 6, 2009

Being Encouraged III

"Sometimes you have to encourage yourself."



"Speak victory during the test. No matter how you feel."

"Depression is all around, but God is a present help."

"I minister to you. I minister to myself."

"The enemy created walls but giants they do fall."

"Sometimes you have to pat your own self on the back."

"Life and death lie in the power of your own tongue."

"Sometimes you have to speak a word over yourself."

Words matter! Speak to yourself!

"Speak over yourself; encourage yourself in the Lord."

"I'm encouraged!"

6 comments:

Opaque said...

That's quite encouraging. Thanks for posting this Judith. I do follow most of them, but not all of them. It is time to do so now.

Judith Ellis said...

Ajey - It is my pleasure, really.

Being a big believer in the creative power of words to change situations, "I minister to you; I minister to myself," as I am often ministered to by people I know and perfect strangers, in personal and professional places.

Words matter, whether they are those that you speak to yourself or others. Sometimes we do not consider the words that go through our minds about ourselves, words that are contrary to who we are or who we would like to yet be. Such words are silent defeaters.

Sometimes we are wait for someone else to give us a good word about ourselves. We are forever look for the encouragement of others. This is important. BUT we also have to learn to encourage ourselves consistently. Both internal and external pressures can be quite pressing.

Speak to yourself! Encourage yourself!

You’re gonna make it. You are love. You are more than a conqueror. You are special. You are beautiful. You are confident. You are brilliant. You are a giver. You are humble. You listen to others. You have the answer. You can find the answer. The answer is coming.

Whenever I feel that there are things that I lack for any situation or emotions that I feel that may be in opposition to who I am or desire to be as outlined in my faith, I speak the words of scripture even more and act accordingly. Funny thing, they become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Speak to yourself! Encourage yourself!

Anonymous said...

"Sometimes you have to pat your own self on the back."
- Indeed. Actually, I like to do so for others when I remember as it helps pass it forward.

"Life and death lie in the power of your own tongue."
Yes they do. How we treat others with it changes the hands we are dealt and hence life.

Judith Ellis said...

Indeed, Meena, though the clear message here is that we need to sometimes pat OURSELVES on the back. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. This is the encouragement that we need to often give ourselves. The specific message here speaks to encouraging yourself. It's OK to do this too.

Sometimes were feel uncomfortable about patting ourselves on the back. There is scripture that says "let others praise you and not you yourself," but this is spoken in another sense. We know when this occurs too and it is often ugly. We all know the braggadocios type. But to speak positive words of yourself to yourself is good and necessary. Encourage yourself!

With regards to that power of the tongue, the same power you extend to others to speak life to them, in other words, to encourage them, is the same power that needs to be spoken to yourself. Again, the point here is YOU and this is MORE than OK. My personal measuring stick is to say what scripture says about me and to balance it with other scriptures.

I often fail miserably.

Anonymous said...

"it is often ugly. We all know the braggadocios type."

I love that word, I think I will use it now. And yes, I know what you mean :-)

Judith Ellis said...

Yes, the word creates images.