Step/Week 2, Day 3 – Hope and Sanity: Believe in Yourself; Don’t Accept the False You
May 6, 2020 1442
“Pride ends in a fall, while humility brings hono[u]r” (Prov. 29:23, TLB).
The mind will only see the truth we program it to see. I guess that’s why people with eating distortions look at their skin-covered frames in the mirror and despair at seeing such a fat person. The mind of the anorexic is showing something that is not there, in reality, a living skeleton is the true mirror image. Our minds can be easily deceived.
We have all formed a sub-conscious bottom line belief of ourselves and then we spend a lifetime looking for evidence that our belief system of who we are is actually true. If you have a negative self-belief, then you will always look for proof of that in your warped character and non-supportive behaviours. That type of thinking and way of living can, and will bring you a lot of pain, shame, guilt, and misery. To says it’s unhealthy would be somewhat of an understatement.
When I stumbled into pornography at age 12, I felt so ashamed. I knew nothing of what had just happened to me, what I had just experienced and with no one to talk to about it, because my shame kept me a willing prisoner, I made some conclusions about myself that became my default position in life. I judged myself to be a boy who would grow up to be a dirty old man. My entire life from that day on was spent living into that belief of who I was and who I was to become. I thought my future was unchangeable, but God had other plans for me, and He has other plans for you, too.
My pride needed to be dealt with. It had been the cause of many of my falls. The problem with pride is that it can stop us recognising and seeking the very help from God that will remove our prideful nature and bring us to a humble way of living that gives all honour to God.
It wasn’t until I surrendered to my Higher Power, Jesus Christ, that I allowed Him to take me on a guided tour of my past indiscretions. It was then that He showed me that at a very confused young age in the middle of puberty, I had set a life-long course to my own destruction. Today, maybe you can relate to that journey towards self-destruction. If you can, then there is still hope for you in God’s invention in your life.
– Graham Hood
Personal Reflection: Have you made major life-changing decisions that set the course of your life, when you lacked the wisdom to make such choices? Spend time with God in prayer. Ask Him to journey with you through your past. What does He show you? Give up your pride and give it to Him and He will deal with it. Ask Him how you can give Him glory in your life and to help you become humble.
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