3 Steps to Defeat Negative Self-Talk

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! Cultivating habits that destroy your peace and health is another clue that you are believing the enemy's lies.  Wicked spirits are restless spirits. Proverbs 4:16  says:

For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall."

The good news is that God's word can deliver you from negative self-talk and the enemy's schemes. 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:

1. In your mind, start counting from 1 through 10.
2. While you are counting in your mind, start speaking Psalm 23 aloud: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.."

Did the counting in your head stop when you started speaking? Did it focus on Psalm 23 instead? Of course, it did! Your thoughts must always stop to listen when you speak. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (see Romans 10:17). 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 kingdom territory, 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 kingdom. 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 kingdom 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 kingdom. 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 to 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. Speak each of the following truths out loud so that the lying thoughts must cease to hear God's truth: 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 renew your mind to 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 with health, healing, and wholeness, Kimberly Taylor Author/Christian Life Coach of the Take Back Your Temple program P.S. When it comes to weight loss, do you often know what you should do but have a hard time doing it? You are not alone! I struggled with this issue on my own weight loss journey, but I discovered that “Nothing is different until you think differently.” In the Take Back Your Temple program, you will learn how to think differently through Biblical keys.You’ll discover how to win the Spiritual and mental battle that often causes the enemy to defeat us. You'll get Spiritual insight so you can recognize His schemes and learn how to overcome them. This is must-have information if you are tired of defeat and are ready to succeed permanently. Click here to learn more about the Take Back Your Temple program