Everyday that we wake up, and go out into the world, we are going to encounter voices from the world advising us on what we should do. Most of the time the words we hear are for encouragement and come from family and friends. None of these people mean any harm or disrespect through their words however, is it what Jesus tells us?
Sometime ago I read about many sayings we use to build someone up through positive language. As Christians we often use phrases to push others forward in their pursuit of happiness. One phrase we use is “Believe in yourself”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this type of encouragement however, Jesus said, “Believe in me”.
Believing in yourself is something we all think about but many of us often face challenges and doubts that make us feel unsure and insecure about our abilities. With our belief in Jesus, we have the assurance that we are created with purpose and loved unconditionally by God. This helps us face our fears and gives us confidence to go after our dreams, no matter what discouragement gets in our way.
Believing and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior takes away the worries and deceptions of the world and gives us the promise of eternal life with Him in paradise. Our time on this earth is temporary.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Philippians 4:13; “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” NLT
This is what God wants us to do when we step out in faith and trust Him for the strength we will need.
Yes, we need to believe in ourselves but do it through our trust in Jesus to guide us.
We often hear from others to ‘Follow your heart’, however Jesus said, “Follow me”. I have not seen where Jesus said, ‘Live your truth’, but He said, “I am the truth”.
I have heard this phrase many times, ‘be true to yourself’; however, Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “…If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” NKJV
There are many sayings that we use in our speech of wanting to help someone grow that are only correct from the world’s point of view. ‘Just do it, as long as you are happy’ is something we say to help someone going forward in certain situations. Jesus never said this however, He did say in Mark 8:36; “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.”
What about you? Are we listening to the world instead of paying attention to what Jesus tells us? This earth is only our home for a short while. Where is your eternal home going to be? Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today!
