Francine
Herrington, Florida
WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE?
Our minds can be compared to jewelry
boxes. We admire its beautiful casing
and wonder what it contains. We realize
that its worth is determined by its contents and so
we proceed to open it.
How many of us see a bracelet that
appears to be silver however it has no marks to prove its authenticity. We
examine it carefully and find some engraved words saying ‘I can’t’.
The next item we pull out is a broken
earring that cries out, “I couldn’t finish what I started.” Its mate speaks out, “The project was too
difficult so I quit because I knew I would fail.” We put these items aside feeling shame.
We pull out a magnificent diamond
necklace. “Finally, we pull out
something worthwhile.” we think until we realize that this piece of jewelry is fake! It is a cubic zirconia ornament.
Oh yes, it does shine but it cannot be compared to the real thing.
We wonder what the meaning of this item is
and then we realize that it represents the lies we tell ourselves. We say that:
We are failures
We’ll never amount to
anything that is worthwhile
We tell ourselves that
there is no use in trying. We’re only
wasting out time
We’re ugly, skinny, fat
etc.
We’re stupid
We weren’t meant to be
loved
We are losers and broken
people
This type of thinking will only lead us to
depression and bring on other more serious problems. We may begin to act like robots, doing the
same thing everyday such as; getting up in the morning, going to work, going
home, going to bed only to start over again the next day. The saddest part of the story is that we may
bring ourselves to the point of refusing to function at all. We have become broken toys.
Let’s not give up! There is a solution to the problem! We may have forgotten that God is still on
the throne and waiting for us to come to Him for help.
Psalm 38: 8-9 - I am
exhausted and completely crushed. My
groans come from an anguished heart. You
know what I long for, Lord; You hear my every sigh.
Psalm 38:22 Come quickly
to help me, O Lord my savior.
Psalm 46:1 God is our
refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
Psalm 40:1 I waited
patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.
The above scriptures are proof that God is on
our side! He wants us to realize that
each negative thought can be compared to an arrow aimed at us by satan who is our mortal
enemy. He knows that we will entertain
these thoughts because we are weak. The
reason may be that others have called us names and labeled us but it’s up to us
to either accept or reject the words thrown at us by other hurting and angry
people.
We are human, but we don’t
wage war as humans do. 4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to
knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5
We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture
their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
If we are sincere in our request for God’s
help we need to dedicate ourselves to obeying Him. He is the only One we can truly trust! God loved us so much that He sent His only
beloved Son to die for us so that we would have an abundant life. He knows our
weaknesses and never condemned us for the wrong that we did. He never agreed with us when we put ourselves
down.
John 3:16-17 This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one
and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing
in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the
trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the
world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who
trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been
under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son
of God when introduced to him.
We can, with God’s help promise ourselves
to replace the unwanted pieces of jewelry we found in our jewelry boxes and
replace them with thoughts and self talk that will enable our self esteem to
develop.
Philippians 4:6-9 Don’t worry about
anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him
for all he has done. 7 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. 8 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. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from
me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be
with you.
Each good thought can be compared to a
precious jewel.
GOD’S LOVE FOR US –
Diamond symbolizes undying love
HIS WORD IS OUR ROADMAP TO
WELL BEING - Garnet Probably because of its famous dark red color, garnet is
associated with the blood. Garnet can
act as an illuminant and is able to protect one from nightmares (satan’s tactics) it is also associated
with self confidence and can boost one’s physical, mental and emotional health.
OUR SALVATION PROMOTES OUR
SELF ESTEEM – The fact that Jesus Christ died for us proves that we are a
people of worth - Topaz - A symbol of self confidence
OUR PLEDGE TO OBEY HIM –
Sapphire associated with faithfulness and innocence. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He
becomes our lawyer and continues to pray for us and declare our innocence
before His Father.
OUR DEDICATION TO STUDY
HIS WORD - Joshua 1:8
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day
and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will
you prosper and succeed in all you do.
This is a wonderful
promise of hope and faith for our well being.
When negative thoughts try to enter our minds, let us not forget to open
our jewelry box and focus on its new contents.
This will remind us that we are OVERCOMERS!!!
John 16:33b “Here on earth
you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome
the world.”
Minister Francine
Herrington
