14 But behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me--but he will show that he hath not.
15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

1 Nephi 21: 14-16

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Some Lies we tell ourselves

1: "I am worthless/I am a failure."

2: "God could never love me."

3: "There's just no point anymore. Why am I even trying?"


Let's tackle these. And I'd love to hear your insights as well.

1) I am worthless/ I am a failure: Holy smokes I felt this one all the time on my mission. Every time I didn't make my numbers, I felt like I had failed. If only I had enough faith, or better time-management, or had the Spirit more...  It took me a long time to really believe that I had actually been of some use. A letter from a convert...a comment from a member we worked with about her feeling the Spirit with us... just little things.

Lesson learned--look for the little things that prove this idea wrong. A small accomplishment here...service rendered by your own hand... look back on all you have done and accomplished. Goodness gracious, you are worth so much, and have accomplished so much, and will yet accomplish many things. There was some quote I read from pinterest.com that says something like, "No matter how slow you're going, you're still lapping everyone on the couch." So true!

"For who can find a virtuous woman (or man)? For her (or his) price is far above rubies." Proverbs 31:10

And for those who feel like they have no virtue due to mistakes, or whatever the reason, you are still doing so much good. If you have ever been a friend to anyone, said a kind word to someone, tried to help someone out--you are contributing in building the Lord's kingdom.


2) God could never love me: I cringe when I recall that by a year into my mission, I truly believed this. I thought I was such a failure as a missionary, that there was just know way that God could love me. Fortunately I now recognize that that was a dirty, terrible lie from the adversary. It doesn't matter how much we mess up, "His hand is stretched out still." Just read a couple chapters from the Book of Mormon, and you will see verse after verse reflecting God and Christs' infinite and unbiased love for each one us. Even you! In the book of Moses, Moses is with God and He is looking over the earth, and you know what God did? He wept. Moses was shocked--this, the Great God and Ruler of the universe, was crying??? Over what?? Our Heavenly Father was weeping for us. His children. Because He was so heartbroken that we would sin--we, who He loves so much.

We don't have to be perfect to deserve God's love. His love is not something that we have to earn. We can count on His love as being constant--no matter how shaky and crazy your life is, His love for His children will not and cannot change. Do we deserve it? ...mmmm questionable.... but that doesn't matter! He loves us anyway.

3) There's no point anymore:

Many of us have thought this as the alarm clock has gone off and we have to face another day. Or maybe the thought comes in the darkness after secretly sobbing our heart and soul out.

But this is what Satan wants you to believe. That there is no point. He wants to make us "miserable like unto himself." If he can get us to lose our very will, he wins. It is here that we lose the eternal perspective.

So what is that eternal perspective? It is that if we truly give up, we give away the chance for eternal happiness, glory, and exaltation. Eternal families and Godhood. To live with our Heavenly Father and Christ again. I mean we give all this up if we REALLY give up not just for a moment, but forever. Whether that be by taking your own life when you know you shouldn't, or living as if nothing mattered for the remainder of your life. I sure hope it never gets that bad. But for some it does.

You are so loved. Not only by God, but by the people in your life as well. People are counting on you--future or current children, a future or current spouse. Future posterity. The work of God depends on your however seemingly small actions.

Remember: Good thoughts that draw you to God come from God. Bad thoughts that turn you away from Him are from Satan. It's that simple.

I'd love to know what helps you battle these thoughts, or what other "lies" we tell ourselves that we could discuss.

Hugs!

3 comments:

  1. One "lie" we tell ourselves that always irritates me when I hear people talking about it is this:

    "There must be something wrong with me..."

    No. That is stupid. God doesn't make mistakes. You are you for a reason. Figure out why you are you and run with it. Seriously.

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  2. Very profound thinking. Thanks for sharing. You are an angel!

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