You Are Not What Others Say You Are!

Words are powerful. Words can give life or take life. Words can build up or words can tear down. Words can hurt or words can help. Proverbs 18:21, says that the tongue has the power of life and death. Proverbs 15:4 also says that the soothing tongue is a tree of life but a perverse tongue crushes your spirit.

I can remember several years ago, three board members surprised me in my office one day to tell me what a great job I was doing and how many people were being touched, encouraged and saved by my ministry... NOT! They basically felt compelled to tell me what a crappy job I was doing. Those words crushed me. I was devastated. My spirit was crushed by those negative, toxic words. After I threw them out of my office, not literally, I went jogging, then I went to pray. I can remember as if a dagger had just been thrust into my heart. I prayed and asked God if there was any merit to what they said. God's response was, "You are not what others say you are!" It was tough during that time, and the several years ahead. I often heard, that I was too young, not caring enough, not this and not that. You see, although I could not control what others said about me, I could control what I believed. I chose to believe God's truth instead of the toxic words. I chose to believe that I am not what others said I was. It was my ability to reject toxic words and replace them with truth that has helped me become the person and the Pastor that I am today.

Chances are many of you, if you look back over your life, you can find some different times when you heard some crushing words, or you were pierced with someone’s hurtful words, they were toxic. The poisonous tip of those toxic words hits you and the poison spreads throughout your body and you hurt, you've lost life because people have spoken words that crushed your spirit. If that is you I want to tell you right now, you are not who others say you are! If someone said, "You'll never be good enough", I want you to know you were created in Christ Jesus to do good works which were prepared in advance for you to do. If someone says, "You're a piece of trash, you're used goods!" No you're not! You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old is gone and everything has become new! You don't listen to the toxic lies of the words!

People will say things that are hurtful over and over and over again, often those that you love and trust the most, but you are not who others say you are, you are who God says you are! Above all else, guard your heart against the toxic lies and words you may hear. In fact, Solomon in Proverbs 4, it's a really meaningful chapter about a father imparting wisdom to his son through life-giving words. Here's what he said, he said: "My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. … Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Prov 4:20, 23.

I'm so thankful that I didn't give in to those toxic words spoken over me several years ago. I wouldn't be at the place I am today seeing God's incredible blessing over my life and my ministry. Let me encourage you today, to guard your heart from those toxic words others will speak over your life. Reject them and replace them with God's truth. You are not what others say you are! You are what God says you are. He says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. He has a plan for your life and that plan is to prosper you, to give you a hope and a good future. When you are weak, you are really strong in Christ, and you CAN do all things through Christ who gives you the strength.