Living in Truth: The Power of Your Mind

Insights:

The Power of Your Mind

There is a lot written and talked about today on the power of the mind and learning to control our thoughts. Studies continue to show the effects of stress and negative thinking on our brains and bodies. In counseling people, I see the effects of negative thinking and the toll it takes on a person. When we believe a lie to be true, we live and act as if it is true.  

Let me say that again, when we believe a lie to be true, we live and act as if it is true.  

For instance, if as a child your parent told you you were a disappointment, how would that affect you? As a child, you would be upset. Maybe really upset. After all, it was your parent who said that; the person who is supposed to love and take care of you. But now you are a disappointment to them. 

Many children would believe it to be true. Why wouldn't they? This now becomes part of their identity, and in scenario after scenario they feel they disappoint the people they are in relationship with, no matter how many times those people say they do not. 

On the other hand, how does that same child handle the truth that God made them perfectly and loves them unconditionally? God did not make a mistake when they were born, but that becomes hard to believe. They doubt the truth, and instead think that what their parent said must be true.  

Our life experiences color our thoughts and beliefs. As we go through life, we continue to encounter truths that just don’t make sense to us, so we doubt them. Then we find lies that we latch onto as if they were written in stone. 

I once counseled a man who was losing everything. His marriage, his family, his job - everything. As we talked he said, “I always knew this would happen. My dad told me I would never be successful in anything.” This man carried the “I will never be successful” lie for years.  In his mind, it was no surprise that his marriage was failing or that he was losing another job. As we talked, he was finally able to remember the situation when his dad said those words. He was 10 years old and like a lot of 10-year-old boys, would rather play outside than do his homework. 

One evening his frustrated dad said, “If you don’t do your homework, you will never be successful.” His dad was trying to motivate his son but all the son heard were the words, “You will never be successful.” The truth was that God had given him everything he needed to be successful but because of his dad’s words, that truth was almost impossible to embrace. His doubts beat down the truth.

In our marriages, we doubt truths and believe lies. Some of that comes from our family of origin.  It is the baggage we bring into our marriage. Some come from our life experiences. Some come from what we experience in our marriage.

A marriage is only as healthy as the husband and the wife that make it. To get healthy, we have to renew our minds. What Paul taught in the Bible is what many mental health professionals are saying today. What we focus on and think about determines so much of who we are. If we doubt the truth and believe the lie, we get stuck and we never experience all God has for us in life and in marriage. 

Renew your mind. It’s time to do something different. It’s time to see yourself through God’s eyes. It’s time to see your spouse as the gift they are to you. Lies and doubts have no place in an Awesome Marriage. 

Next Steps:

  • What truths are you doubting today?  

  • What lies are you continuing to believe?

  • What steps do you need to take to be able to see yourself as God sees you?

 How can you grow spiritually in marriage? Nancy and I talk about ways to grow closer to God together.

Quick Hits

This Week’s Quote:  

George Harrison

George Harrison was born at 12 Arnold Grove in Wavertree, Liverpool, on 25 February 1943. He was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. George was sometimes called "the quiet Beatle." 

  • The world used us as an excuse to go mad.

  • If we'd know we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.

  • I wanted to be successful, not famous.

This Week’s Trivia Question: 

  • What is the signature food dish served at Wimbledon?

Did You Know: Rapid Fire Edition

  • Tigers not only have stripes on their fur but also on their skin.

  • Wearing headphones for just an hour could increase the bacteria in your ears by 700 times. 

  • Froot Loops are all the same flavor despite their different colors. (That really disappoints me!)

Something to Talk About:

Would you rather be wealthy or intelligent?

Awesome MarRiage This week

This Week’s Trivia Answer:

  • Strawberries and cream      

Kim KimberlingComment