I
Am Significant to God and that is What Really Counts
False
belief: I have to meet certain standards in order to feel good
about myself.
Consequences: You
fear failing.
Effects: perfectionism (unwilling to fail); avoiding risks (shuns new or challenging activities, only wants to do things he can do well); anger/resentment (when insulted/injured, whether actual or imagined, or when confronted about your performance); anxiety and fear (of people’s disapproval); pride (when your performance is successful); schizophrenia (trying to escape the pain of failure/rejection by creating your own separate world); depression (your body’s defense mechanism to block psychological pain by numbing physical and emotional functions); chemical dependency (an attempt to ease the pain and fear of failure and produce feelings of greater self-esteem); dishonesty (by exaggerating the truth to hide failures and impress others); low motivation (or laziness because if you think you will fail, you have no reason to exert yourself with effort).
Solution: Realize, that by trusting in
Jesus Christ as your Savior, God has not only forgiven you of all your sins,
but has declared you as righteous as Christ, and because of this justification,
you are fully pleasing to God (Rom. 5:1; 8:9; Col. 2:13, 14; 2 Cor. 5:21; Acts
13:38, 39; Gal. 2:16).
Results of solution:
Freedom from fear of failure; enthusiasm/diligence about serving God and people
out of a motive of love.
False
belief: I have to be approved/accepted by certain people in
order to feel good about myself.
Consequences: You
fear being rejected.
Effects: anger/resentment/hostility
(desire to get revenge on those who reject/criticize you); easily manipulated
(thinking you’ll be liked/accepted if you do every request of those whose
approval you want); domineering (to avoid being hurt, you try to maintain
control of people/situations); schizophrenia (fashioning your own make-believe
world to escape the disapproval of people); depression (deadens the destructive
effects of repressed anger).
Solution: Realize, that by trusting in
Jesus Christ as your Savior, that although at one time you were hostile to and
alienated from God, you now have been forgiven and have been brought into an intimate
relationship with God, and because of this reconciliation, you are totally
accepted by God (Col. 1:21, 22; 2:13, 14; Rom. 8:1, 33, 34; 1 Pet. 3:18; Gal.
1:10).
Results of solution:
Freedom from the fear of rejection; willing to be honest and vulnerable; able
to relax around others; willing to accept criticism; desire to please/obey God
regardless of what others think.
False belief: Because I’m a
failure/can’t seem to do anything right, I am unworthy of love and deserve to
be punished and in that way feel better about myself.
Consequence: You either fear being
punished by people and/or God, and/or you punish others (even those who try to
love you).
Effects: self-induced punishment (if you’re hard enough on yourself, then God won’t have to punish you); bitterness and pessimism (if you think that God and others are always punishing you); passivity (is the neglect of your mind, time, gifts, and talents through inaction because fear immobilizes your will); punishing others (because their failure reflects on you).
Solution: Realize, that by trusting
Jesus Christ as your Savior, Christ has satisfied the wrath of God through His
death payment for your sins, and because of this propitiation, you are deeply
loved by God (1 Jn. 4:9-11; Eph. 1:3-14; 2:4-9; Heb. 10:10-14, 17; Rom.
8:35-39).
Results of solution:
Freedom from fear of punishment; kindness and patience toward others;
forgiving; trust, love, and obedience for Christ.
False
belief: I am hopeless since I can’t change either the way that
I am or my past.
Consequences: You feel inferior (not
good enough to be like/accepted/approved by others or normal like the “in”
crowd).
Effects: habitual destructive behavior
(habits/actions or words that degrade yourself and your relations to others,
even having thoughts of suicide); self-pity (feeling sorry for yourself because
you see yourself as a victim); despising your appearance (feeling lousy and.
cheated because you don’t look handsome, athletic, muscular, macho – a picture
of masculinity, or if you’re a girl, because you don’t look like Miss America).
Solution: Realize, that by trusting in
Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are a new creation in Christ, and because of
this regeneration and redemption, you are complete/adequate in Christ and
capable of being Christ-like in moral character through your new nature and the
Spirit of God within you (2 Cor. 5:17; Jn. 3:3-6; 15:5; Titus 3:5; Rom. 3:24;
6:14; 8:28-30; Gal. 5:16, 22-24; Eph. 4:22-24; Phil. 4:13; 2 Pet. 1:3-7).
Results of solution:
Christ-centered and Christ-confident; joy, peace, love, courage, a desire to
know, trust, and obey God and His Word.
Memorize
and quote every morning (when you get up)
and before you go to bed at night, the following:
“Because
of Jesus Christ, I am deeply loved, totally forgiven, fully pleasing, totally
accepted by God, and complete in Christ. And as I renew my mind, I can (through Christ in the power of the Holy
Spirit and in co-operation with my new nature) become like Jesus Christ in
my character (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 10:3-5;
Jn. 15:5; Phil. 4:13; 1 Pet. 1:3; Gal. 5:16, 22-24; Eph. 4:22-24).
I am the salt of the
earth – Matt. 5:13
I am the light of the
world – Matt. 5:14
I am a child of God –
Jn. 1:12
I am part of the true
vine (Christ), a channel of Christ’s
life – Jn. 15:1, 5
I am chosen and
appointed by Christ to bear His fruit – Jn. 15:16
I am a son of God; God
is spiritually my Father – Rom. 8:14, 15; Gal. 3:26; 4:6
I am a joint heir with
Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him – Rom. 8:17
I am a temple (a dwelling place) of God. His Spirit
and life dwell in me – 1 Cor.
I am united to the Lord
and am one spirit with Him – 1 Cor. 6:17
I am a member of
Christ’s body – 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph. 5:30
I am a new creation – 2
Cor. 5:17
I am reconciled to God
and am a minister of reconciliation – 2 Cor. 5:18, 19
I am a son of God and
one in Christ – Gal. 3:26, 28
I am an heir of God
since I am a son of God – Gal. 4:6, 7
I am a saint – Eph. 1:1;
1 Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:l; Col. 1:2
I am God’s workmanship (His handiwork) born anew in Christ to
do His work – Eph.
I am a fellow citizen
with the rest of God’s family – Eph. 2:19
I am righteous and holy
– Eph.
I am a citizen of
heaven, seated in heaven right now – Phil.
I am hidden with Christ
in God - Col. 3:3
I am chosen of God, holy
and dearly loved – Col. 3:12; 1 Thes. 1:4
I am a son of light and
not of darkness – 1 Thes. 5:5
I am a holy partaker of
a heavenly calling – Heb. 3:1
I am a partaker of
Christ; I share in His life – Heb. 3:14
I am one of God’s living
stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house – 1 Pet. 2:5
I am a member of a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession –
1 Pet. 2:9
I am an enemy of the
devil – 1 Pet. 5:8
I am an alien and
stranger to this world in which I temporarily live – 1 Pet. 2:11
I am a child of God and
I will resemble Christ when He returns – 1 Jn. 3:1, 2
I am born of God, and
the evil one (the devil) cannot touch
me – 1 Jn. 5:18
I died with Christ and
died to the power of sin’s rule over my life - Rom. 6:1-6
I am free forever from
condemnation – Rom. 8:1
I have been given the
mind of Christ (ability to understand
spiritual things) – 1 Cor.
I have been bought with
Christ’s blood; I am not my own; I belong to God – 1 Cor.
I have been
established, anointed, and sealed by God in Christ, and I have been given the
Holy Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing my inheritance to come – 2 Cor. 1:21; Eph.
1:13, 14
I have been blessed with
every spiritual blessing – Eph. 1:3
I was predestined (determined by God) to be adopted as
God’s son – Eph. 1:5
I have been redeemed and
forgiven, and am a recipient of His lavish grace – Eph. 1:6-8
I have been raised up
and seated with Christ in heaven – Eph. 2:6
I may approach God with
boldness, freedom, and confidence – Eph. 3:12