Reality

When something said or done to us (particularly in our childhood) is unkind or painful, our reaction may cause us to believe lies about ourselves that are not based on reality. Our personality may also  predispose us to these tendencies. For instance, my husband and siblings attended the same school as me but were not affected by the rules and regulations in the same way I was.

The devil then uses these lies we believe, and emotional and spiritual damage is caused.

Inner Critic

A few years ago, because of much stress in my life and a possible medical diagnosis that didn’t look good, I was “out for the count.” In order to get better, for two years I really worked on my physical health. It helped immensely, but I realized I still had something unresolved. I had an inner critic that would not leave me alone.

Work of Grace

Self-help suggests using affirmations to help bring self-worth, but that does not work for me. Jonathan Morris says, “Simply replacing lies with truths (even biblical truths) can help someone establish a semblance of stability in his or her life, and it’s a necessary step toward full mind renewal, but when there’s deep-seated damage, knowing the truth is rarely enough to achieve the full renewal of the mind and healing of the heart. God needs to step in and work a miracle of grace.”

That brings me a whole lot of peace.