Category: Thinking and Beliefs

EXCHANGE OPPRESSIVE LIES FOR FREEDOM

Do you have thoughts that come to your mind, which remind you of a painful memory, either something you did or said, or something someone else did or said to you? Embarrassing or painful memories recreate oppressive feelings of shame or guilt. You may have been humiliated or neglected, which causes you to feel and believe the lie that you are rejected and unworthy. Whether you realize it or not, painful memories affect who you really are and your destiny. They create unhealthy beliefs about yourself, others, and God that also shape your identity.

The girls in my County Jail Bible Study all have horrible trauma memories that shaped how they see themselves, the world, and God. One girl could not love herself and felt unworthy of being loved. When I asked her about her family, she recalled being left at her grandmother’s house while her parents and other siblings went on vacations or to parks. These actions by her parents reinforced that she was not wanted, and she was not worthy to be loved, but she had very good memories of her grandmother’s love. The painful memories oppressed her greatly and affected how she saw herself and others.

Another girl’s father made her do drugs at ten years old and sell them for him. One can only imagine the other trauma events in her life. Now her father has her daughter while she is in jail, and she says he is still doing drugs. She is very oppressed, knowing what her father did to her, and is now doing to her daughter. She desperately wants to be free from the oppression of being addicted to drugs and the oppression of the painful memories that torment her soul. The other girl’s trauma is too hard to write about, but it has changed her identity, which has changed her destiny. All the girls suffer from the oppression of depression. Jesus came to set them free. There is hope, and I will share it in this post. 

Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” – Luke 4:18 

In my previous post, I outlined the six ways to achieve victory. To become free from the oppression of painful thoughts, you first must put off pride, submit to God, claim His promises, and then resist the devil’s lies by specifically putting them out of your mind. James 4:6-8 says, “But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” 

To be free from the oppressive curses the devil, yourself, or others put on you, you must now put off these lies/wrong beliefs and replace them with the truth of God’s word. You can only do this if you are right with God through believing in the death, resurrection, and deity of Jesus Christ and receiving His forgiveness for your sins. If you have not done this, please do it now so you can experience freedom and victory.

Your words have the power to create new thoughts and new responses. As you read the following curses, recall the memory of when that curse was put on you. Read my online book to heal the oppressive trauma memories that control your thoughts and emotions to be totally free. If you feel you have any of these curses, pray to put them off and then put on the right belief and truth, in Jesus’ name.

“I am a victim.”
Instead, say, “I am victorious in Christ Jesus.” Put on the truth: No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39.

“I am worthless.”
Instead, say, “I am worthy because I can live a righteous life through Jesus, and He loves and accepts me.” Put on the truth: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. –Romans 6:11-14.

“I am permanently damaged.”
Instead, say, “Jesus is restoring me, and I am renewing my mind.” Put on the truth: … the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. –1Peter 5:10. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. –2Corinthians 4:16. To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. –Ephesians 4:22-24.

“I am guilty and can’t forgive myself.”
Instead, say, “I am forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness.” Put on the truth: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. –1John 1:9.

“I am a rebel and want to disobey.”
Instead, say, “I am victorious over my desire to rebel because I am renewed.” Put on the truth: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. –1Cor. 15:57-58.

“I am tempted and can’t overcome.”
Instead, say, “I submit my mind to God and do what is good and right, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13).” Put on the truth: For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he [Jesus] is able to help those who are being tempted. – Hebrews 2:18. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? –Romans 8:34-35. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. –1Corinthians 10:13.

“I am an alcoholic.”
Instead, say, “I am set free from the control alcohol has over me.” Put on the truth: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. –Galatians 5:1. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. –John 8:36.

“I am an addict.”
Instead, say, “I live for Christ Jesus by faith, not for anything else.” Put on the truth: I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. –Galatians 2:20. 

“I am a liar.”
Instead, say, “I have put on my new self and put away the bad habit of lying.” Put on the truth: Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. – Colossians 3:9-10.

“I am an angry person.”
Instead, say, “I can live in peace with those who disappoint me.” Put on the truth: Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. – Hebrews 12:14. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. – Ephesians 4:26-27. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. – James 1:19-20.

“I am a failure.”
Instead, say, “I am not a failure because Jesus is my helper, and He helps me overcome my obstacles.” Put on the truth: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.— 1Peter 5:6-7. And “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33.

“I am afraid and anxious.”
Instead, say, “I know that God is with me and will help me and strengthen me.” Put on the truth: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew. 6:33.

“I am alone and unwanted.”
Instead, say, “I thank the Lord that I can trust his promise to never leave me.” Put on the truth: It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8.

“I am bad and unlovable.”
Instead, say, “I am righteous and loved by God.” Put on the truth: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. –John 15:9. So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. –Ephesians 3:17-19. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. –2Corinthians 5:21.

“I am hopeless.”
Instead, say, “My hope is in God and I trust that He keeps His promises.” Put on the truth: For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? –1John 5:4-5. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. – Romans 8:24-25.

“I am stupid.”
Instead, say, “I have the mind of Christ, and I can make wise decisions.” Put on the truth: For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. –1 Corinthians 2:16. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. –Proverbs 2:6.

“I should not have been born. I am better off dead.”
Instead, say, “God gives my life purpose.” Put on the truth: Psalm 139:14-18  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 17How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. 

Conclusion

You will need to heal the memory that created the curse you believe about yourself to remove the foothold for Satan to oppress you. You may have to put off the curse several times and put on the right belief and truth to permanently erase the oppressive curse and be completely free of it. Satan does not give in easily, so continue to submit your mind to God and resist the devil by applying God’s truth to your heart. God’s word promises that the devil will flee from you. You can hurry him along by commanding him to leave you alone in Jesus’ name. Sometimes we give the devil the right to oppress us because of our sin and painful memories, so those need to be removed to experience freedom from the devil’s oppressive lies. Remember to put on the armor of God every day by reading Ephesians 6:10-18. 

**********

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91. 

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

SIX STEPS TO GO FROM VICTIMIZED TO VICTORIOUS

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow children to be hurt by wicked people? Have you ever asked those questions or wondered in your heart? I just finished reading the story about Job, who was unfairly targeted. David, Daniel, and Jesus Christ are also examples of how the devil influenced individuals to harm them. They all had to go through the bad situation, yet in the end, God blessed them for being faithful to Him. 

What about the Christians killed by terrorists or a gunman? Why didn’t God protect or rescue them? These are the questions we need to grapple with, because many people do not come to faith in Jesus Christ or leave the faith due to a tragic issue that can’t be explained. Everyone has been a victim in one form or another. Satan wants everyone to doubt that God is good and that He can’t be trusted. Satan tries to warp your perception of God and make you angry at Him, just like he did with Job. Job 2:3 explains, “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.’” 

Satan is our accuser, too. Read Ephesians 6:10-18. The Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians 6:11-12, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Not everything can be blamed on Satan; often, our sinful desires lead us into disastrous situations that cause us pain and suffering. But know that Satan also entices us based on our sinful desires. Ephesians 2:1-3 states, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

How Job Was Victorious Over the Evil Events.

Satan first got permission from God to afflict Job to make him falter in his faith (Job 1:10-12). God granted Satan his request to test Job’s faith. After Satan caused fire to destroy his crops, a windstorm to kill his children, and raiders to steal his wealth, Job still blessed the name of the Lord. Job 1:22 states, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job kept a positive view after losing all his children and wealth, then Satan asked God’s permission to cause physical suffering. This was when Job got depressed and laments the day he was born and hopes for the day he dies (Job 3). His wife encouraged him to curse God, and he said to his wife, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? In all this, Job did not sin with his lips (Job 2:10). Job got depressed and laments the day he was born and hopes for the day he dies (Job 3). His three friends said he had sinned, which was why God allowed all these calamities; yet Job could not recall any time he had sinned. He questions God. Job 13:23 states, “How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin.”

Job found comfort in God’s word. Job 23:10-12 states, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. 11) My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. 12) I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.” Job valued God’s words more than food. Do you desire to know God’s words and to know His promises more than you desire food? Will God find you to be pure like gold after your faith is tested? Will you commit to holding fast to God and keeping His ways during your trials? 

In Job 42:4-10, Job repents of his sin for questioning God and challenging Him to answer him. Then God rebuked Job’s three friends, who had unjustly accused him of sinning and of not speaking the truth about God. Job then prayed for his three friends and forgave them so God would not deal with them according to their folly. After Job prayed for them, God restored Job’s losses and gave him twice as much as he had before.

Six steps to go from Victim to Victory

  1. Give up your pride to be humble (James 4:6 & 10; Ps. 147:6; Prov. 11:2; and 1Peter 5:5). Humility is thinking less about yourself (not selfish or self-seeking). A prideful person does not consider what is good to God, others, or themselves. Often, when we are victimized, we become prideful; either we choose not to love to avoid being hurt again, or we have low self-esteem and desire people’s approval and do things that perpetuate our pain.
  2. Submit yourself to God (James 4:7a). Trust that God is sovereign and all-knowing. Additionally, submission is an act of obeying God’s commands. My parents and my first husband were church-going Christians, but because they did not submit to God and obey His commands, I was a victim of their unloving, abusive behavior. When I submitted to God’s command to forgive those who hurt me and resist the devil’s enticement to hold a grudge and be bitter, I became victorious over the control of those who hurt me.
  3. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7b). Resist through prayer, praise, and holding fast to God’s truth. Most of all, obey God’s command to love Him and others, and Satan will flee. I had to resist the self-serving desire to close my heart to loving others as God loves them.
  4. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8a). Draw near with love and through prayer, trusting that He loves you. When you’re faced with a difficult problem, call out to God for help. 

1Peter 5:6-9 states, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

  1. Repent of your sins (James 4:8b & 1John 1:9). Sin separates you from God, and He will not hear your prayers (Is. 59:2). Review 1Corinthians 13:4-7 and Colossians 3:5-15 to see if you love others as God commands and are resisting the devil’s temptations to sin against others because of the hurtful things done to you. To overcome the trauma of the painful memories of those who sinned against you, work through my website book. When the painful memories are healed, then Satan can’t torment you through them or use them to entice you to sin.
  2. Purify your heart so you don’t have a double mind (James 4:8, Matt. 5:8, & 1Peter 1:22). Matthew 5:8 states, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” “Put off” the sins and critical, wrong beliefs about yourself, God, and others, forgive them, then “put on” how God sees you and the truth about God, yourself, and others. Being abused or victimized creates soul wounds that need to be healed to have a pure heart. Read Five Steps to Heal Your Heart and Purify Your Soul. My web-book will also help you to purify your heart and soul. Our lack of understanding of who God is creates thoughts of doubt and insecurity. We think God does not care about us, and we see ourselves as being unworthy. As children, we may have been victimized by someone who was in authority over us or who should have protected and loved us but didn’t.

Conclusion

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God allow children to be hurt by wicked people?  Unfortunately, Satan is the ruler of this world (1John 5:19 & 2Timothy 2:26). He is determined to destroy as many people as he can and to prevent them from being followers of God. God allows him to test our faith so that we can have a pure devotion to God, as Job did. God warns the church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” We all must suffer while on this earth, but I encourage you to hold fast to your faith and devotion to God and resist Satan’s attempt to cause you to doubt God. You may feel shame from being victimized; if you do, then read Eliminate Depression with Self-love and God’s Love.

I am praying for you and ask God to bless you despite the trials you may be facing or will face. Remember, to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. –James 1:2-4.

**********

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91. 

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

TRANSFORM REBELLION WITH LOVE

What causes a child or adult to rebel against those in authority at home, school, or church? Rebellion is to be in opposition. At one time in our lives, we were rebellious, either against our parents’ rules, societal norms, or church morals. Teenagers are known for their rebellious spirit, mainly because they want to be independent. Rebellion is a sin according to God’s Word. Do you sometimes live independently of God?

What Does the Bible Say About Rebellion?

Proverbs 17:11a states, “An evil man seeks only rebellion.” 

Jeremiah 33:8, God said, “I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.”

Hebrews 3:15 explains, “As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’” 

Romans 2:5 warns, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Do you have a rebellious spirit? The Israelite people rebelled against God, even though they knew He loved them and led them out of bondage in Egypt and through the Red Sea on dry ground. God did so many miracles for the people of Israel, yet they rebelled against Him and disobeyed His commands. This was because of their sinful nature and because they did not love God. This broke and still breaks God’s heart. He wants to give you good things and bless you, but only if you love and obey Him. The Apostle Paul wrote that those who are self-seeking do not obey. Romans 2:8, “but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.” 

The Bible is clear that we will have troubles in this world (John 16:33), and we will go through trials (James 1:2), but often our disobedience brings us troubles and trials. When the Israelites disobeyed, God let other nations cause them troubles and hardships to discipline them. When they repented and returned to God, He sent someone to deliver them. The book of Judges describes this cycle. Do you love God and obey Him?

How Obedience is Love.

Children who love their parents will obey them. So what causes a child to not love their parents and rebel? One reason is the sinful nature in the child, which needs loving discipline to guide them in right behavior. The second reason is resentment towards their parents, which causes them not to trust that their parents have their best interests at heart. My psychology course calls it Obstinate Defiance Disorder, Conduct Disorder, or Oppositional Defiance Disorder.  Most behavior problems begin with disappointment when expectations are not met. Neglecting the child will create trust issues, leading to Obstinate Defiance issues. Psychotherapy that heals painful memories of disappointment will help the child to deal with the disappointment in a healthy way. Often, teenagers don’t feel loved by their parents, so they choose not to love their parents and rebel against their rules. Why did you rebel against your parents?

We show that we love God by obeying Him. John 14:15 states, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” 1John 3:23 explains, “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” Patience and kindness are evidence of love (1Cor.13:4). When we love others, we are right with God because we love as He loves. John 15:12-14 states, “This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life [selfish pride] for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Also, 1John 4:8 states, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 

Conclusion

Rebellion shows that our sinful nature still controls our lives. When we repent and reject sin and evil, it shows that we love and fear God and want to obey Him.  What does the Bible say about the fear of the Lord?

Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”

Proverbs 16:6, “By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.”

Proverbs 19:23, “The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”

Proverbs 22:4, “The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.”

If you feel you have a spirit of rebellion and want to live independently of God, ask Him to take the rebellious spirit from you and to give you a heart of humility to obey Him.

RELATED POSTS

How to Recognize and Eliminate Emotional Cancer

WHY HEAL YOUR HEART AND PURIFY YOUR SOUL?

The Link Between Disappointment, Resentment, and Self-control

Why Should I Forgive?

THE GREATEST PRINCIPLE TO LIVE BY

**********

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of promises relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91. 

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts.

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles. Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

HOW TO REPLACE SADNESS WITH REJOICING 

What makes you sad? I was addicted to sadness because that was all I knew growing up. When I say addicted to sadness, I would make up something to be sad about that wasn’t real. I would get so depressed about something that did not happen except in my mind. Read Breaking Emotional Addictions to learn how I overcame this addiction. You can be addicted to other emotions as well. Some people want to feel good all the time, which leads to pleasure addictions. 

What is Sadness? 

Sadness is pervasive in our society. There is so much to be sad about. Sadness is a feeling of sorrow about a loss, which could be someone else’s loss. Sadness is a feeling of dejection from some form of rejection, even perceived rejection. Dejection is a low spirit, like melancholy,  depression, or discouragement. It is the opposite of gladness, which is a happy and joyful attitude.  

You have heard of the saying that some people see the glass half empty, which is why they are pessimistic and sad, or someone sees the glass half full, and is optimistic and happy. Which are you most of the time? We all have moments where we are happy or sad, but where do your thoughts dwell for most of the day, especially when you are by yourself? Do you feel you need to escape your thoughts by watching YouTube videos? 

What Influences Your Emotions? 

What do you allow to influence how you feel? Have you noticed that grateful people tend to be genuinely happier people? I have a friend who sees the negative in everything, and even when people are kind to her, she can’t see it or be thankful because they are not kind enough. Are you a grateful person? Some people see the good in others and show appreciation. Appreciative people show happiness for what others do or say, and it makes the other person feel valued and happy. We all want to feel valued. Do you show appreciation?  

I have another friend who allows the news and her family to dictate how she feels about our political environment, which affects all aspects of her life. People who allow others to influence their feelings and attitudes have given up self-control of their thoughts and emotions. They internalize the negative energy of other people and their negative views and comments. Do you know people like this? These people are very sad.

The Power of Thoughts 

Many of us are unaware of the power of our thoughts and the words of others, and how they influence our feelings and actions. Only you can control your thoughts. Negative thoughts make you sad or mad, and positive thoughts make you happy or grateful. What generates your thoughts? Is it a positive influence on your emotions or a negative influence? 

Social media is known to be a negative influence, making people depressed. If you feel depressed by watching the news or viewing social media, then stop taking in the negative influence. If your friends and family are always negative, then limit your time with them. Negative energy increases your stress hormones, which affects your health and causes an imbalance in neurotransmitter connections in the brain. Negative thoughts lower both your serotonin and dopamine levels, which leads to depression and anxiety. 

Replacing Sadness with Rejoicing. 

We know that our thoughts control how we feel. Hebrews 10:5 tells us to take our thoughts captive and make them obey Jesus Christ, who is God. God forgives and is love, joy, peace, patient, kind, good, gentle, faithful, and self-controlled. If something sad happens, or something makes you mad, take those thoughts captive, pray, and give the negative thought to God, then rejoice and be thankful for something. Once, I was in a situation that made me angry, so I took the thought captive and gave the situation to God, then asked Him to give me patience and kindness. Next, I tried to think of something to be thankful for, so I said I am thankful that I am not a leper in India. I had just heard the story of how bad the conditions are in India for those with leprosy. Changing my perspective about my current situation helped me feel happy again. I was also able to respond with grace and kindness to the person who made me sad. Read Practicing Healthy Conflicts – an Example.  

Philippians 4:6 states, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” By praying to God about our situation, you are taking the thought captive. Making supplication is petitioning God for a desired outcome. Being thankful is acknowledging that you are trusting God to work out the situation for good or in accordance with a promise He made. When we thankfully give God all our cares and concerns, we will be filled with peace and joy.  

The Apostle Paul also tells us what our thoughts need to be in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  These are the thoughts we should meditate on and put out all other thoughts. If your mind dwells on these things, then you won’t be sad or mad.  

Philippians 3:1 and 4:4 tell us to rejoice in the Lord, that is, to be glad and delight in what He has done for us and for His promises. Worship is part of rejoicing and being thankful. When we stay in a state of worship, then we will continually be filled with joy.  

To change your thoughts, review the following posts. 

POSTS on Thoughts 

365 DAYS OF WORSHIP 

POSTS about God’s Promises 

FREEDOM POSTS 

12 Joy Stealers 

Truth Statements to Dwell on. 

I choose to stay focused on God and receive His love and joy. John 17:13; 15:11 

I choose to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and be thankful in every circumstance because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes. 5:16-18 

The God of hope fills me with joy and peace as I believe, and I will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13; 5:3-5 

The joy of the Lord is my strength.  Neh. 8:10 

Being in the presence of God through prayer and praise gives me joy.  And He leads me down the path of life and abundance.  Ps. 16:11 

Nothing has power over me unless I allow it. I choose to rejoice always and not be anxious about anything, but continually give my concerns to God. Phil. 4:4-7 

Joy is knowing that even the demons are subject to Jesus’s name, and I am protected from evil.  Luke 10:17; 1 Jn. 5:18; Jn. 17:15; 2 Thes. 3:3 

I find joy in believing the truths of the Word of God. John 15:11; Mk. 4:16 

I can have joy despite my circumstances, knowing happiness depends on circumstances.  I can be thankful even when life is hard because I am becoming complete and lacking nothing.  James 1:2-3 

A joyful heart is good medicine, and I will focus on God and not my circumstances.  Prov. 17:22 

********** 

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of promises relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request. 

OVERCOME UNHEALTHY FEAR WITH POWER 

Are you aware of how much you are controlled by fear? Do you realize how the news and movies create fear in your mind? For example, I watched a movie called “Taken.” After watching that movie, I feared being kidnapped. The news about women being raped and killed while jogging, hiking, or going shopping reinforced my fear. I became afraid to go out of my house. Have you ever experienced that kind of fear? Some people take fear to a serious mental health level where they can’t leave their homes. Some people are afraid of the dark, dogs, spiders, or snakes, and they have an extreme reaction when they even see a picture of one. Do you know anyone like this? Some people have a fear of being around other people. Why? How do we overcome these fears? 

I have been writing about mental health issues since the beginning of the year. Read my other mental health posts here. Mental health issues appear in different ways because we each have different unhealthy beliefs. Two ways to overcome fear are through courage and avoidance. For example, avoid driving on the wrong side of the road to prevent a head-on collision and death. Sometimes you need courage, like when you go into surgery or give a speech. Today, I want to explain how to overcome unhealthy fear with divine power.  

Unhealthy Fear Creates Wrong Beliefs. 

Healthy fear is based on truth, such as driving on the wrong side of the road will lead to a head-on collision and death. Unhealthy fear creates wrong beliefs that control your emotions and actions. Irrational fears can be traced to a bad experience or a scary movie. Maybe someone chased you with a snake, which terrified you. The truth is, snakes are more afraid of you than you are of them. 

Wrong beliefs are things you think are true but are not based on reality. For example, I had an unhealthy fear of being abducted, raped, and killed that I developed from the news and a movie. This unhealthy fear was based on truth, but I had a wrong belief that it would happen to me. This wrong belief controlled my emotions and triggered anxiety. Do you see how unhealthy fears create wrong beliefs, which then influence your emotions and affect your actions? 

Replace Wrong Beliefs With Truth. 

Now, I replace my wrong belief with God’s truth and promises, that He is always with me and will help and protect me (Heb. 13:5b-6 and Ps. 23:4). Deuteronomy 31:6 states, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you.” He will not leave you or forsake you.” I wrote a book called “Unlocking God’s Promises,” which explains God’s truths that can replace your wrong beliefs and give you courage.  

How does Divine Power Eliminate Fear? 

Power has many meanings, but in the context of fear, a sense of power gives you confidence or courage to face what you fear. Power gives you the capability of doing or accomplishing something even when you are afraid. Think about electricity, where the power source is an outlet that is connected to the power lines. Until you plug a device into the power source, it will not work. God is our power source, but until we plug into Him through prayer, we will not have any power to overcome our fears. Make sure you have repented of your sins because your sin separates you from God, and He does not hear your prayers (Is. 59:2). Here is what the Bible says about His divine power. 

2Corinthians 10:4-5 tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” God gives you divine power to take your thoughts of fear captive and put your trust in God by replacing your thoughts and focusing on God’s truths. The weapons of our warfare are God’s truth. Read Ephesians 6:10-18.  

Who is the author of fear? Ephesians 6:10-12 states, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 

2Peter 1:3 explains, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” When you choose to trust God to help you, you have access His divine power to face all of life’s fears and challenges. His divine power helps you do every hard thing related to your life. He will also help you be godly as you grow in your knowledge of Him. You have been called to God’s glory and excellence, which does not include fear. 2Timothy 1:7 explains, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 

Conclusion 

Overcoming unhealthy fear is best accomplished through the divine power of God as you pray and take captive your fearful thoughts by replacing them with God’s truth. God also gave you His divine power for everything you do, even doing things you are afraid of. For example, one time I was hiking and saw a huge fresh bear paw print. I became very afraid because I know bears are known to attack humans and kill them, so I took my thoughts captive and claimed God’s protection. For good measure, I sang mixed-up praise songs to God to let the bear know I was there and that God was my protector. Proverbs 18:10 explains, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” 

God’s divine power is the only way to overcome temptations and take tempting thoughts captive, and replace them with His truth.

RELATED POSTS: 

HOW FEAR CONTROLS YOU! 

What Controls Your Thoughts? 

FREEDOM OF THOUGHTS—Post 2 

POSTS on Thoughts 

********** 

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of promises relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request. 

Prevent Suicide and Addictions with Hope

Have you ever lost hope? How often do you feel there is no hope? Have you ever contemplated committing suicide or know someone who has? I must admit that I contemplated suicide several times. When you feel no hope, you become depressed and want to escape. Despair is the opposite of hope, and despair is the leading cause of suicide. Some people resort to drugs or alcohol. Some people are addicted to shopping or excessive exercising to escape their despair. I was a workaholic, where I used busyness and achieving goals to help me forget my problems and feel good.  

You only have hope if you trust the one who made the promise. I wrote a book about God’s promises that give you hope called “Unlocking God’s Promises.” It is now available on Amazon. These promises got me through some really tough times and have helped me stay strong in my faith. I struggled with many mental health issues for most of my life. It is a constant battle to take my unhealthy thoughts captive and apply the promises of God.  

Evidence of Hope is Joy and Peace. 

Lasting hope is in God because He keeps all His promises. The keys to unlocking those promises are to believe, be thankful, and obey Him. All other hope fades away or disappoints us. Romans 15:13 states, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” God is hope, and only by the power of the Holy Spirit will we abound in hope and be filled with joy and peace.  

Depression is the opposite of joy and peace. Temporary distractions do not fill you with joy or peace. Empty promises do not give you joy or peace, just more disappointment. Only the God of hope can give you the joy and peace you long for. Psalm 42:11 states, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” We have no hope without God, according to Ephesians 2:12. 

God is Faithful and We Can Trust Him 

Someone who is faithful is dependable, tells the truth, and can be trusted. Hebrews 10:23 states, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” For the Scriptures below, read each phrase and ponder the truth that gives you hope. For example, I will break down the phrases in Deuteronomy 7:9  

  • “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God,  
  • the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love 
  • with those who love him and keep his commandments, 
  • to a thousand generations.”   

1Corinthians 1:9 states, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  

1Timothy 1:2 states, “In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.”  

Colossians 1:23 states, “If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” 

Conclusion 

Unlocking God’s Promises explains over 18 categories of promises that we can trust God to keep. Sometimes we may have to wait, as Abraham and Sarah did, fifteen years for the birth of Isaac. They were not patient to wait and decided to make the promise happen on their own, which did not end well. Knowing and claiming God’s promises fights despair when you are overwhelmed by troubles. I explain how God’s promises helped me through many difficult situations. 

********** 

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright-protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91. 

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, available on Amazon. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request. 

EIGHT WAYS TO EMPATHETIC LISTENING 

Are you quick to offer advice without fully understanding the underlying issue? Do you feel people don’t listen to you? Do you empathetically listen to others and seek to understand, or do you only want to be understood? Seeking to understand is an empathetic way of communicating that many people don’t know how to do.  

I have been writing about mental health issues this year. Learning to understand others and practicing empathetic listening can be challenging if you are consumed by your own problems, which I was at one time. Or if you are a problem solver like me. I am quick to offer advice without fully understanding the situation first. Stephen Covey explains how to empathetically listen to people in his book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”  

How Do You Communicate? 

  • Listen with the intent to reply.   
  • Speaking or preparing to speak.   
  • Filtering everything through your paradigms or perspective. 
  • Reading your autobiography into other people’s lives, thinking what worked for you will work for them.  

Four Autobiographical Responses (Stephen Covey) 

Because we listen autobiographically, we tend to respond in one of four ways.   

  • We evaluate by either agreeing or disagreeing; 
  • We probe by asking questions from our own frame of reference;  
  • We advise and give counsel based on our own experience; or  
  • We interpret and try to figure people out, to explain their motives, their behavior, based on our own motives and behavior. 

What is Empathetic Listening? 

  • Empathic (from empathy) listening gets inside another person’s frame of reference.   
  • You look out through it; you see the world the way they see the world. 
  • You understand their paradigm from their perspective. 
  • You understand how they feel.  
  • The essence of empathic listening is not that you agree with someone; it’s that you fully and deeply understand that person, both emotionally and intellectually. 

Stephen Covey explains, “In addition, empathic listening is the key to making deposits in Emotional Bank Accounts, because nothing you do is a deposit unless the other person perceives it as such.  You can work your fingers to the bone to make a deposit, only to have it turn into a withdrawal when a person regards your efforts as manipulative, self-serving, intimidating, or condescending because you don’t understand what really matters to him.  Empathic listening is, in itself, a tremendous deposit in the Emotional Bank Account.  It’s deeply therapeutic and healing because it gives a person ‘psychological air.’” To learn more about how to build a person’s emotional bank account, see my previous post, 10 Ways to Build an Emotional Bank Account. 

Empathetic listening is essential for creating win-win agreements. Because if you don’t understand the thoughts and feelings of another person, it will be impossible for it to be win/win.  To learn more about creating win/win agreements, read How to Build Trust with Win/Win Agreements. Empathetic listening lets the other person know you value them, which is a psychological need every person has. Once they feel you understand and value them, you can focus on influencing or problem-solving. 

Most people are taught to either repeat or rephrase what someone says to show you heard them. That is not understanding them. The key is to understand how the other person feels. For example, a child says, “I hate my teacher, she is mean.” Empathetic listening will want to know why; “You sound frustrated, tell me why you think she is being mean?” “Do you feel she is being unfair?” By rephrasing and reflecting the feelings, you get the other person to open up about why they believe something is true. Then you can lead them to think with their prefrontal cortex, where logic is. Next, you can help them develop a healthier way of thinking or come up with a solution to the problem. 

Eight Actions to Be an Empathetic Listener. 

1.  I will listen with the intent to understand and not reply. 

2.  I will try not to read my autobiography into other people’s lives. 

3.  I will get into the other person’s frame of reference, to see the world the way they see it, understand how they feel, and thus give them “psychological air.” 

4.  I will not evaluate by either agreeing or disagreeing. 

5.  I will not probe with questions from my frame of reference or perspective. 

6.  I will not advise or give counsel based on my own experience. 

7.  I will not interpret by trying to figure people out, to explain their motives, their behavior, based on my motives and behavior. 

8.  I will rephrase the content and reflect the feeling. 

Conclusion: Then Seek to Be Understood 

In the post discussing win/win agreements, Stephen Covey defined maturity as the balance between courage and consideration. Seeking to understand requires consideration; seeking to be understood takes courage.  Win/Win requires a high degree of both. So it becomes important in interdependent situations for us to be understood. Being interdependent fosters rich, enduring, and highly productive relationships with others. When you can present your own ideas clearly, specifically, visually, and most importantly, contextually, in the context of a deep understanding of their paradigms and concerns, you significantly increase the credibility of your ideas. 

Read Mental Health Posts 

********** 

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.

If you find this website helpful, you will like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, available on Amazon. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, found on Amazon.  To learn more about my book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles. I would love to hear what you think so please leave a review. 

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request. 

A MENTALLY HEALTHY PERSON IS PRINCIPLE-CENTERED.

What does a principle-centered person look like? What principles do you live by? This post continues “Habit 2: Begin With The End In Mind,” by Stephen Covey. In the post ACHIEVE HEALTHY GOALS IN 12 WAYS,I explained how to achieve your goals by cultivating thoughts to achieve a desired outcome. I also shared my mission statement for my life and the goals to achieve my mission. In the post Three Ways to Unlock Your Potential: Achieving Goals Continued, I explained how to rewrite defeating scripts written by unhealthy beliefs. Unhealthy beliefs develop from painful experiences. You can write a new script by exchanging unhealthy beliefs with true or positive beliefs.

Of the 12 ways to achieve healthy goals, this post will explain the following two ways:

  1. I will be principle-centered, not spouse-centered, family-centered, money-centered, work-centered, possession-centered, pleasure-centered, friend-centered, enemy-centered, church-centered, or self-centered. I will be Christ-centered, showing love to everyone.
  2. As a principle-centered person, I will try to separate myself from the emotion of the situation and from other factors that might affect me and evaluate the options.

In his book, Stephan Covey explains each of the other ways to be centered in number 8 above. The decisions you make depend on what your life is centered around. In this post, I will only share what he says about being principle-centered. Though Stephan’s book is not a Christian book, the principles are applicable. So when you read about being principle-centered, think about the truths of God’s word.

Excerpts from Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Principles are deep, fundamental truths and classic truths. (e.g., truths found in the Bible.)

Security

1.   Your security is based on correct principles that do not change, regardless of external conditions or circumstances.

2.   You know that true principles can repeatedly be validated in your own life, through your own experiences.

3.   Correct principles help you understand your development, giving you the confidence to learn more, thereby increasing your knowledge and understanding.

4.   Your source of security provides you with an immovable, unchanging, unfailing core, enabling you to see change as an exciting adventure and opportunity to make significant contributions.

Guidance

1.   You are guided by a compass, which enables you to see where you want to go and how you will get there.

2.   You use accurate data, which makes your decisions both implementable and meaningful.

3.   You stand apart from life’s situations, emotions, and circumstances, and look at the balanced whole. Your decisions and actions reflect both short- and long-term considerations and implications.

4.   In every situation, you consciously, proactively determine the best alternative, basing decisions on conscience educated by principles.

Wisdom

1.   Your judgment encompasses a broad spectrum of long-term consequences and reflects a wise balance and quiet assurance.

2.   You see things differently and thus you think and act differently from the largely reactive world.

3.   You see the world in terms of what you can do for the world and its people.

4.   You adopt a proactive lifestyle, seeking to serve and build others.

5.   You interpret life’s experiences in terms of opportunities for learning and contribution.

Power

1.   Your power is limited only by your understanding and observance of natural law and correct principles and by the natural consequences of the principles themselves.

2.   You become a self-aware, knowledgeable, proactive individual, largely unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors, or actions of others.

3.   Your ability to act reaches far beyond your own resources and encourages highly developed levels of interdependency.

4.   Your decisions and actions are not driven by your current financial or circumstantial limitations.  You experience an interdependent freedom.

Remember that your paradigm (biblical concepts) is the source from which your attitudes and behaviors flow.  A paradigm is like a pair of glasses; it affects the way you see everything in your life.  …As a principle-centered person, you try to stand apart from the emotion of the situation and from other factors that would act on you, and evaluate the options. Looking at the balanced whole–the work needs, the family needs, other needs that may be involved and the possible implications of the various alternative decisions–you’ll try to come up with the best solution, considering all factors.

Writing and Using a Personal Mission Statement

Personal responsibility, or proactivity, is fundamental to the first creation. Returning to the computer metaphor, Habit 1 says, “You are the programmer.” Habit 2, then says, “Write the program.” Until you accept the idea that you are responsible, that you are the programmer, you won’t really invest in writing the program. …As proactive people, we can begin to give expression to what we want to be and to do in our lives.  We can write a personal mission statement, a personal constitution.

Writing or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it forces you to think through your priorities deeply, carefully, and to align your behavior with your beliefs.

Using Your Whole Brain

Our self-awareness empowers us to examine our own thoughts.  This is particularly helpful in creating a personal mission statement because the two unique human endowments that enable us to practice Habit 2–imagination and conscience–are primarily functions of the right side of the brain.  Two Ways To Tap The Right Brain:  Through the powers of your imagination, you can visualize your own funeral, as we did at the beginning of this chapter.  Write your own eulogy.  Actually write it out.  Be specific.  What would you like your family to say about you.  What would you like your friends to say about you.  What would you like your co-workers to say about you.

Suppose I am a parent who really deeply loves my children.  Suppose I identify that as one of my fundamental values in my personal mission statement.  But suppose, on a daily basis, I have trouble overreacting.  I can use my right brain power of visualization to write an “affirmation” that will help me become more congruent with my deeper values in my daily life.  A good affirmation has five basic ingredients:  it’s personal, it’s positive, it’s present tense, it’s visual, and it’s emotional.  So I might write something like this:  “It is deeply satisfying (emotional) that I (personal) respond (present tense) with wisdom, love, firmness, and self-control (positive) when my children misbehave.”

      Then I can visualize it.  I can spend a few minutes each day and totally relax my mind and body.  I can think about situations in which my children might misbehave. The more clearly and vividly I can imagine the detail, the more deeply I will experience it, the less I will see it as a spectator.  Then I can see her do something very specific which normally makes my heart pound and my temper start to flare.  But instead of seeing my normal response, I can see myself handle the situation with all the love, the power, the self-control I have captured in my affirmation.  I can write the program, write the script, in harmony with my values, with my personal mission statement.  And if I do this, day after day my behavior will change.  Instead of living out of the scripts given to me by my own parents or by society or by genetics or my environment, I will be living out of the script I have written from my own self-selected value system.  …all the world-class athletes and other peak performers are visualizers.  They see it; they feel it; they experience it before they actually do it.  They begin with the end in mind.

**********************

I pray you are inspired to read your Bible to learn more about developing Christ-centered principles. For the sake of time, I will write about Christ-centered principles in the next post.

*************************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Three ways to Unlock Your Potential: Achieving Goals Continued

Do you ever say you can’t do that, or that I am not good enough? You may think you can’t do something, but why do you believe that? Often, our unhealthy beliefs cripple our ability to achieve great goals. I had a goal of being a Data Processing Instructor. When I told my mother I wanted to go to college, she said I was too stupid. That could have ended my teaching ambitions.

What Prevents You From Achieving Your Goals?

In my previous post, “Twelve Ways to Achieve Healthy Goals,” I explained how to write a mission statement and the goals to achieve your mission in life. In this post, I aim to help you overcome the unhealthy beliefs that hinder your ability to achieve your desired goals. The following three statements outline how we often get stuck and fail to achieve goals, and how to think differently.

  1. I will use my unique human capacities of self-awareness, imagination, and conscience to examine old scripts and write new ones.
  2. I will live out of my imagination instead of my memory.
  3. I will tie myself to my limitless potential, rather than my limiting past.

What keeps us from achieving our goals? Living out of old scripts from memories where people limited your abilities. When you were a child, you may not remember exactly what people said  or how they limited you, but the actions created an unhealthy belief that you internalized. These unhealthy beliefs dictate scripts that control your thoughts and ultimately your destiny.

How I Overcame My Limiting Past.

I grew up in an abusive, dysfunctional home and in poverty. The house was built in 1890 and was full of lead and asbestos. All these factors limited my brain’s ability to grow in intelligence. I knew I could be smart because both my parents were very intelligent. I strongly believed my environment restricted my ability to achieve and be mentally healthy. I dissociated for several years to cope with the abuse. I struggled to learn and had to take remedial reading classes in 7th and 8th grade.

It is a good thing I am goal oriented because I could have believed my mother’s words and adopted that mentality, but I didn’t. In my post called HOW TO BE PROACTIVE: cont. I explained why I pursued an education degree to become a Computer Science teacher.

About 30 years later, God put it in my heart to continue my education. I didn’t know what subject. He led me to pursue a master’s degree in Adult Education and developing distance education courses. I loved designing curriculum, so I felt that it was a good fit. But I still had the unhealthy belief that I was stupid and couldn’t learn, and it had been 30 years since I was in school. God led me to read the book “Switching on Your Brain” by Dr. Caroline Leaf. In that book, she explained neuroplasticity and how the brain can grow, and how we limit our potential. She stated that we have the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2:16). If I possess the mind of Christ, I am exceptionally intelligent as He created the Universe and everything known and unknown in our world. I changed my unhealthy belief to the truth of God’s word. I used my unique human capacities of self-awareness, imagination, and conscience to examine old scripts and write new ones. I applied to graduate school, was accepted, and got straight As. I completed a post-baccalaureate certificate in distance education because my university’s layoff removed my tuition benefit.

How to Change Old Scripts and Unleash Limitless Potential.

I asked God what He wanted me to do after I am laid off, and He said, “Write a book.” I thought, “No way. I can’t write. I have no idea what to write. Who would read something I would write?” These and many other unhealthy beliefs kept me from obeying God. When I shared what God told me and my thoughts with a godly old man, he said, “Be like Gideon.” Those words were so powerful and life-giving. If you haven’t read the story about Gideon or it’s been a while, I encourage you to read it (Judges 6-7). Words have power, which I explain in the posts WORDS HAVE POWER—Part I: Overcoming The Destruction of Offensive Words and WORDS HAVE POWER—PART II: Words Produce Death or Life Energy.

I discovered later why God wanted me to take writing-intensive graduate classes. These classes forced me to learn how to write, and in the process, I read many grammar books. I also discovered Grammarly.com. When I asked God what He wanted me to write about, and He said, “You already wrote it.” I was like “What?” He showed me that He wanted me to turn my prison Bible Study notes and my testimony of Complete Healing into a published book. I ended up writing two books, which I list at the end of this post. That was when God told me to create a website to write blogs and share my testimony book “Hope for Complete Healing” with anyone who wanted to read it. Take inventory of what you believe about your abilities, then look for scriptures to rewrite those scripts.

Conclusion

Many people have taken their limits and turned them around when they believed in God’s ability to help them, and having people around who encouraged them. Check out Joni Eareckson Tada’s story and marvel at how she allowed God to use her paraplegic body. You can read about her in Joni Eareckson Tada Shares Her New Resolve After 55 Years in a Wheelchair. Also research the achievements of Helen Keller, who was born blind and deaf. You may have physical limits, but you don’t have to live according to old scripts and unhealthy beliefs.

*************************

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book, Unlocking God’s Promises, explains 18 categories of relevant promises to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Freedom from All Forms of Poverty—Post 6

Have you ever considered the access we have to God’s riches and blessings? Poverty is not only being poor materially, but it also means being deficient spiritually, emotionally, or physically. How would you describe your emotional or spiritual condition? A Bible verse that encourages me is Psalms 50:10, which states, “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” This verse reminds me that God owns everything. He is very rich. All I need to do is ask because He is my loving Father and He promises in James 1:17; “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Do you have a testimony of how you trusted God to meet your needs, and that He was faithful to you?

God promises to provide for our material needs.

When I was a single mother with no money, I would claim the promise in Philippians 4:19; “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” When God says, “I will”, that is a promise we can trust. Then He said, “supply every need of yours” Every means just that, material, emotional, spiritual, and physical needs. “According to his riches in glory” our Father in Heaven owns everything, and “in glory” references Heaven (Col. 3:4 and 1Tim 3:16). Heaven is made of gold, its foundation is made of gems, and each gate is made of one pearl (Rev. 21:18-21). We can’t access God’s riches in heaven except “in Christ Jesus.” Do you have Christ Jesus in your heart?

It never occurred to me to get financial assistance from the government. I automatically went to God first, and He provided for all my needs and kept me and my children safe from all harm. Instead of despairing about my situation, I trusted God. So often we forget that our heavenly Father is very rich. He said in Malachi 3:10; “to tithe…put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” As a single mother, I tithed every source of income, and yes, God blessed me immensely. I share this story in the post called Trust God to Keep His Promises.

God’s provision is not the prosperity gospel. God does not spoil us with our self-centered, vain wants. So, don’t put a picture of a beautiful car or house on your mirror and claim it, then expect God to provide it. No, God provides for our needs. But our priorities need to be in alignment with God’s priorities. Matthew 6:31-33 states, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” God knows what you need. The condition is to look up and seek God’s blessings of righteousness, joy, and peace. Romans 14:17 states, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” How are you seeking God’s righteousness, peace, and joy?

God provides for our future needs. When the Israelites were leaving Egypt after being slaves for 400 years, God caused the Egyptians to favor the Israelites so they would not leave empty-handed. God told them to ask for silver and gold jewelry and clothing from the Egyptian women, and they were given all that they asked for (Exodus 3:21-22).

Personally, God provided for a future need I did not know I would need. God said I was to go to graduate school. I was not thrilled because I was working full time, so when would I have time to study? I did not know what subject I should study, and it had been 30 years since I graduated from college. I obeyed and learned later that God wanted me to learn how to write. I received a post-baccalaureate certificate in Distance Education, and it was writing intensive. When I finished, I was laid off from my job. Then God called me to write a book during my layoff. I began with one long book that I broke into the two books, which are described at the end of this post. It was five years from the time I started writing to publishing the first book. God provided for every need. Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Let God lead you as He prepares you for the good work He has planned for you. It may not make sense and you may not want to obey, but trust God and obey.

God promises to provide for our spiritual needs.

Spiritual needs cover many areas, so I will provide an overview here. Ephesians 1:3 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” We are already blessed because of Christ in us; and through Him, we have access to every spiritual blessing of heaven. It is hard to wrap my mind around this truth. What spiritual blessings have you received?

So many of us live in spiritual poverty because we don’t seek what is already ours. Would you rather have temporary worldly pleasure that leaves you hurt and unhappy, or do you want heavenly blessings that give you joy and peace? Proverbs 10:22 states, “The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” “Every spiritual blessing” is countless, here are a few: strength (Phil. 4:13), peace, joy, hope (Rom. 15:13), grace (Eph. 2:7), salvation, forgiveness, power, love, and self-control (2 Tim. 1:7), and so on. To receive spiritual blessings, you need to seek God and draw near to Him. If you are not receiving spiritual blessings, please read Freedom in Our Spirit – Part 3.

God promises to meet our physical and emotional needs.

The very first thought that comes to my mind is how sin causes physical and emotional poverty. Psalm 38:3 states, “There is no soundness in my flesh because of your [God’s] indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin.” Proverbs 3:7-8 states, “Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. 8It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” Before God can meet our physical and emotional needs, we must first repent of our sins, especially of pride. For example, I was a very anxious person. The sin of anxiety affected my digestion and made me emotionally depressed. I explain how I became free in Why, What, and How to Submit to God and be FREE. Also, read How to be Free from Sin’s Control – Post 4.

I also discovered how our emotional health affects our physical health. If you have poor emotional health through painful experiences and resentments, it will cause poor physical health. I explain why and how our emotions affect our physical bodies in 4–Transforming Heart Issues Heals You Physically.

Conclusion

Our Heavenly Father is very rich, and He wants to supply all our needs. What would happen if you went to another person instead of your parents and asked them for the things you need? They may help you, but would they provide for your every need? No. Someone, who is not your family, doesn’t have a love relationship with you. Your heavenly Father loves you and He wants you to love Him and ask Him for His help. I am not against getting assistance from our government, but they can’t provide your every need like God can. You have limited yourself to what the government thinks you should get. God will meet your needs according to His riches. Hebrews 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Faith unlocks God’s riches, but the condition is to draw near to Him and believe He exists, seek Him, then He will reward you.

I pray that God will bless you richly in the coming year.

********** 

All verses are from the English Standard Version. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family: hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website. 

My latest book is Unlocking God’s Promises, which explains 18 categories of promises that are relevant to each of our lives. It also includes the promises in Psalm 91.  

If you find this website helpful, you would like to read Breaking Mental Strongholds, which expands on my website book and includes many of my posts. 

Additionally, consider my book Fighting Unseen Battles, which describes the many unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and what the truths are. To learn more about this book, read the post How to Fight Unseen Battles.  

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, the 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.