Turn Off Negative Self-Talk & Tune Into God

I know first-hand how debilitating it is when I allow negative self-talk to reign in my brain. Exactly four years ago on April 4, 2020, I started believing lies that I was worthless. I didn’t realize this was happening in my unconscious, so I didn’t have faith or strength like Jesus did in Matthew 4:4 to say, “No! I know who I am and I don’t live by bread alone but by what God says about me!” 

Back then, I didn’t know how powerful God’s words are for my mental health, my physical health, and my spiritual health. Instead, I constantly compared myself to others who had their life together. 

My husband and I had just become empty nesters, and my mind was over-focused on not having a job, which made me feel worthless. I know now that my being a stay-at-home mom for 23 years is the absolute best thing I could have done for my family. But after we launched our children, the enemy was subtly convincing me that there was no value in being a mom or in having poured into my kids.

The deceiver tossed that thought-grenade-of-a-lie into my subconscious. I struggled with brain fog and I didn’t know who I was anymore. I needed a new raison d’etre, a new purpose in life. Not knowing who I was or what I was made for left me feeling hopeless, worthless, and depressed. 

But God, being the amazing Good Father that He is, began to teach me how to use His rhema words as weapons to dislodge all of that “stinking thinking” in my mind. 

The first thing God did was to show me Matthew 4:4. That’s significant because today is 4/4/24! And the day I was severely attacked by the enemy was 4/4/2020. So I’ve declared 4/4 to be Matthew 4:4 Day! In Matthew 4, after Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, Satan tried to get Him to turn stones into loaves of bread. 

“But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

— Matthew 4:4 (NLT)

The word “word” in this verse is the Greek word “rhema,” which means “that which has been spoken by the living voice.” In this verse, Jesus is telling us that we can’t survive with only food. We need God’s spoken words to truly live.

Back when my mind was constantly spiraling negative thoughts, God reminded me that I had two binders of typed prophetic words. But they weren’t going to do me any good sitting on my shelf!  I needed to take them down, open them up, and learn how to use them as weapons so that God’s living rhema words could come alive in my mind and in my life!

My Abba Tov, the best and none better Heavenly Dad, didn’t stop there or leave that 4/4 attack go unnoticed! He quickly sent me the help I needed so I could learn to wield the weapon that is His Word. 

I happened to watch an online video of Dan McCollam describing how we can decipher our prophetic words by using the prophetic processing elements he wrote about in his Good Fight Workbook. This teaching is based on the verse from 1 Timothy 1:18, which says,

“I put this charge before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you, in order that with such encouragement, you may fight the good fight.” (NET Bible)

Immediately, I ordered Dan’s book and have been studying his Good Fight Prophetic Processing for the past four years. I praise God that I am no longer living in that mental anguish! I find myself more full of joy than I’ve been for years and have a much brighter outlook on life! I am so grateful to God for leading me to The Good Fight, which helped me discover who I am in Christ and what I was made for. 

I’m now enrolled in Dan’s Prophetic Company Good Fight certification program and will become a Certified Prophetic Processing Trainer in October 2024. I’m excited to teach other believers how to use their prophetic words as a weapon so they can discover their true identity and destiny.

Friend, although I can’t teach you everything I’ve learned in the past four years in this short blog, let me leave you with 3 practical tips. If you’re struggling with negative self-talk or if you long to know who you are and what you were made for, these encouraging tips are for you.

3 Practical Tips to Turn Off Negative Self Talk

1. NOTICE the negative thoughts coming against you and silence them. Break any agreements you’ve made with them. This is your defensive weapon.

2. ASK God, “How do you see me?” Ask Him to give you the TRUTH about who you are and write it down. This is your first offensive weapon.

3. SPEAK God’s TRUTH out loud to yourself. This is another powerful offensive weapon. If you’re really feeling oppressed with lies, you may need to do this more than once a day. I used to set my iPhone alarm 4 times a day to recite God’s truth to myself. If you need to do that, do it! Let God’s TRUTH grow roots in your brain. 

I bless you to know that you are not alone in your walk. Your Heavenly Dad is with you. He is willing to show you the way so you can know the truth and be set free. I pray that the Lord blesses you and makes His face shine on you.

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photo credits: <a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-photos/portrait”>Portrait Stock photos by Vecteezy</a>