Words are powerful and that goes for the words we say to ourselves all the time.
Do an online search for “affirmations” and in 30 seconds, you’ll have 245 million results. We have ourselves convinced that speaking positive words to ourselves or over ourselves will result in success in anything. It is true that words are powerful, and they do affect us. Words are so important to God that He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth as the embodiment of His Words (John 1:1). One Bible teacher explains that “What God had to say to us was not only or mainly what Jesus said, but who Jesus was and what he did.”[1]
The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63
Jesus lived them and the words that we need for healthy, clean lives of peace are communicated to us in the Bible. Jesus said, “…the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63). As we take in God’s written Word by reading, listening, and meditating on Scripture, God’s own Spirit brings His Words to life within us, changing us, in the here and now.
We can speak God’s transformative Words to and over ourselves by reading Scripture personally, using “I” and “me” and “my.” Psalm 46:1 becomes, “God is my refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Other verses tell me: “He has removed my sin as far from me as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12) and “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me” (Psalm 16:8).
Affirm God’s Words to yourself today. No words we could ever speak to ourselves have the power His do.
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[1] “In the Beginning Was the Word.” Desiring God, 21 Sept. 2008, www.desiringgod.org/messages/in-the-beginning-was-the-word.
