Can negative self talk destroy your health? I believe it can. My own battle with it started when I was 12. I told myself that I was fat, even though I wasn't. That negative inner dialogue created a new reality for me: I became obese and stayed that way for over 20 years. But praise God, He gave me the victory over obesity - and delivered me from negative self talk. He can do the same for you!

 

Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones." If you are constantly reporting bad news to yourself like insulting yourself or thinking lies like "I'll never change," then you are depressing your spirit. You are cooperating with the devil, who wants to steal, kill, and destroy.

 

A depressed spirit shows that he is succeeding!

 

The good news is that God's word can deliver you from negative self talk. In 2 Corinthians 10:5, you are given the battle plan for victory in this area: "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

 

Not only do you have God's word to defeat the enemy, but in designing your brain's operation, God built in a fail-safe that you can exploit to your advantage: You cannot hold two thoughts in your mind at exactly the same time. Your mind works on a queue system - it only lets one thought in at a time.

 

I'll prove it to you: In your mind, start counting from 1 through 10. While you are counting in your mind, start speaking Psalm 23 aloud: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."  Did the counting in your head stop when you started speaking? Did it start recalling Psalm 23 instead? Of course it did!

 

Your thoughts must always stop to listen when you speak. So if you ever have difficulty meditating silently on God's word to overcome negative self talk, then speaking scriptures out loud will help you gain the victory.

Begin to think of your mind as like an exclusive neighborhood, screening the thoughts that you allow to live there. Here are 3 steps to getting delivered from negative self talk:

 

1. Decide which thoughts you want in your mental neighborhood. The bible has already given clear guidance on this in Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.

 

So to be clear, these are thoughts you are looking for:

 

• True
• Noble
• Just
• Pure
• Lovely
• Good report
• Virtue
• Praiseworthy

 

While you can't help if negative self talk passes through your mental neighborhood temporarily,  you can certainly decide if you want it living with you!

 

2. Start monitoring your thoughts to see if they match up with God's truth.

 

For example, do you have thoughts like these:

 

• Nobody loves me
• Nothing ever works for me
• I can't stand it
• There's nothing I can do about it
• Is God really going to help me?

 

The thoughts above do not fit the criteria you are looking for in your neighborhood. Why? Because they are lies! I can dispute every single one with the Word of God. Can you?

 

The only way that you can recognize a lie from the truth is make personal bible study a regular part of your daily life. If you struggle in this area, then meditating on the bible must become a priority.

 

3. Replace the negative self talk with God's truth. Here are some examples:

 

Lie: Nobody loves me

Truth: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)."

 

Lie: Nothing ever works for me

Truth: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)."

 

Lie: I can't stand it

Truth: "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand (Ephesians 6:13)."

 

Lie: There's nothing I can do about it

Truth: "...men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1)

 

Lie: Is God really going to help me?

Truth: "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).'

 

To summarize, the only way you will be successful in defeating negative self talk is to make bible study your lifestyle so that you can recognize truth from lies. Then, you will be able to adopt God's way of thinking, glorify Him in all your ways, and experience the freedom Christ died to give you - Spiritually, mentally, and physically!

 

Be blessed in Health, Healing, and Wholeness,

 

Kimberly Taylor
Take Back Your Temple
www.takebackyourtemple.com

P.S. Is negative self talk ruining your life? It doesn't have too! Encourage Me: 30 Days to Positive Self Talk is a devotional that will help you defeat negative self talk and learn to take God at His word. 

If you need to be encouraged today and haven't had the opportunity to check out the eBook, then you can do so here:

Click here to learn more.