Hey, I want to talk about a topic that many people suffer with; that’s self-doubt. You know, one of my jobs is to run the Transformation Center here at our church, and we get quite a few people who come in and don’t really, first of all, they don’t know their identity. They don’t know who they are. And so they have a lot of self-doubt. Many, many people do. More than you might think.
You know, I was listening to a teaching, or actually it was in one of her books, Joyce Meyer. She was talking about how the enemy comes to us at birth and starts to plant things and starts to put assignments against us and so forth and so on, so that as we grow, we experience doubt. He plants it so that it stunts the child’s growth. And the child doesn’t doesn’t grow and nourish and flourish the way they should, because he plants self-doubt. I’m not good enough. I’m not pretty enough, I’m not strong enough, I’m not smart enough. All those things from childhood. Why does the enemy do that? What is the purpose? What is his purpose in that? His plan is to destroy our God-given destiny. He does not want to see you flourish, to become the person that God intends you to be. He sees that destiny. He sees the anointing. He sees what’s planted in you from the very beginning, and he would do everything he can to thwart that growth. Thwart you becoming who God intended you to be. I say, don’t give him any victory. Don’t do it. Don’t give him the victory. We can counter that. Even if you’re 50 or 60 years old, you can begin to counter that implant from the enemy to turn around self-doubt, to gain confidence.
You can do it. How? Number one: prophetic words. If we were a member of any church, especially a charismatic church, we probably get a prophetic word a week at least. Do you write those down? Do you keep those? They’re not all good. We know that. We have a saying around Bethel that if the word doesn’t sound like it’s supposed to to be you, or if it’s not a righteous word, flush it. But the ones that are, that in your spirit, you feel that these are words for you, these are right words for you, write those down. Record those.
If you are not getting prophetic words, go get a prophetic word. Go to someone that you know that is prophetic. Tell them to give you a word. Write it down. But writing it down, and recording is one thing. Going back and listening to it is another. Prophetic words are meant to build us up, but they don’t do a thing for us unless we go back and we review those and we meditate on those words.
Another is self affirmations, you know, Steve Backlund, he’s really a great guy. He got several books out on self affirmations, and they work. Stand in front the mirror and say, “Hey, I’m smart. I’m handsome, I’m strong. I’m friendly. People like me, I can get things done. I am a builder. I create things. I’m a good person. Jesus loves me. He loves me, and He died for me. And so therefore, I love myself.”
Now, another thing we can do, which I like to do a lot, is read passages where He extends authority to us. Like Matthew 10:5-8; Matthew 28:19. He gives us authority. You know, Jesus said, “Greater things than the things that I’ve done, you will do.” Wow! That’s one of the most powerful verses in all of the scripture. You will do greater things than even He did. Those scriptures, they build us up. They give us confidence. They point us in the direction, get us back on the track that God meant for us to be on, right? Don’t give the enemy the victory. You are stronger than you think you are. Walk in the authority that God gave you.