“My son, be attentive to My words; 
incline your ear to My sayings. Let them not escape from your sight;
 keep them within your heart. 
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, 
for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:20-23

Data Entry

Walk His Way Revisited

You might not realize this, but you have been doing a lot of data entry this week. Everywhere we turn, data is being downloaded into our hearts and minds. Whether we are watching television, listening to music or surfing a social media site, the enemy is trying to reach our thoughts by what we see and hear, telling us who we are—who we are supposed to be, who we want to be, and who we should become.

Sadly, the cry of the masses speaks so many things into our lives that God doesn’t agree with:

You are successful if you do _____,

Happiness is ______,

You are worth something if you_______,

You need to be more. You need to be less. You need to be “fill in the blank.”

All lies!

The world wants to tell us who we are. The world invites us on a journey to “find” ourselves. Maybe I think too simply about this, but I believe the answer to who we are can be defined by just this: We are what Jesus thinks about us. 

We are His. We were planned. We were created for His purposes. Created for His pleasure. We are His temple. We are precious in His sight. We are forgiven. We are new. We were cleansed to walk in fellowship with Him. We are beloved. We are His bride. We are chosen. We are adopted as sons. We are permanent. We are dependent. We are desperate. We are free. We are loved and clothed in the blood of the Most High’s Son, Jesus. That’s who we are.

How do we leave behind the idea of self-esteem and pursue Christ-esteem?

His voice has to be the loudest voice we hear and listen to. Our job is to ensure that we take the time to quiet the environment around us so that we can hear HIM. We need to silence the voices we are able to. We need to speak against the ones we can’t. And mostly, we need to focus on His word and download HIS TRUTH into our fragile, hungry, impressionable hearts.

“If Your law had not been my delight,
 I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts,
 for by them You have given me life. I am Yours;  save me” (Psalm 119:92).

Father, Your Word defines who I am. May I ever listen to that only. Amen.