"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
Psalm 139:17 (ESV)
The Enemy wants you to believe his lies about who and what you are.
He whispers these lies in the caverns of your mind.
He screams these lies through the voices of this world.
Too often, these lies obscure God’s truth.
He loves you.
He adores you.
He treasures you.
Even as you read this, you may hear those lies echoing through your thoughts.
We need to reject the Enemy’s effort to define us and rewrite our story. We need to actively embrace God’s vision of who and what we are.
To that end, I encourage you to write your own Beloved Charter*.
This Beloved Charter is a scripture-based statement of who God says you are and what you mean to him.
Dearest Your Name,
I am your Good Shepherd.
I knit you together in your mother’s womb.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
I am your light and your salvation.
When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you have nothing to fear for I am with you.
There is now no condemnation. None.
And nothing can separate you from My love.
Not scandal.
Not failure.
Not losing your job.
Not people's bad opinions of you.
Not disappointment.
Not family.
Not horrific pain.
Not death itself.
Greater love has no one than this: to give their life for another. And I gave my life for you.
I remember you are dust.
You are never alone.
You are never unloved.
This day, I bless you and keep you.
My face is turned toward you, and shining with love.
I no longer call you servant, but friend.
Amen
I would encourage you to not just cut and paste, but to write this out by hand. Linger over it. Allow the words to permeate your mind, heart and soul.
Meditate on this daily.
Allow his voice to fill your mind that it may drive the other voice out.
Think about it.
Pastor Jason
*adapted from Episode 5 ("The Longest Journey") of John Ortberg's podcast, Become New.