2025-03-14
Nehemiah 2:18 NIV
There is a time to pray, and there is a time to take action. Sometimes that means filling out the job application, or writing the check, or setting up the appointment, or having the conversation, or making the move.
Peter Marshall said: “I wonder what would happen if we all agreed to read one of the Gospels until we came to a place that told us to do something, then went out to do it, and only after we had done it, began reading again? There are aspects of the Gospel that are puzzling and difficult to understand. But our problems are not centered around the things we don’t understand, but rather the things we do understand… Our problem is not so much that we don’t know what we should do. We know perfectly well, but we don’t want to do it.”
One of the big mistakes we make is requesting God to do for us what God wants us to do for Him. Before God parted the waters of the Jordan River to allow the Israelites to enter Canaan, He told the priests to take a few steps into the river. Why did God do it that way? Maybe it was because He wanted to know if they had enough faith to get their feet wet. As long as your feet are planted on dry ground, God won’t part the river for you. You say, “I’m waiting for God to move.” Perhaps God is waiting for you to step out in faith and make the first move. If so, the word for you today is – take action.
Soul food: Job 15-17; Luke 17:20-37; Ps 19; Prov 8:6-7
2025-03-13
Jesaja 43:4 NLV
As jy ‘n 10 wil wees, maar jou selfbeeld is ‘n 5, sal jou nooit die vlak van ‘n 10 bereik nie. Jy sal ‘n 5 of laer bereik. Jy kan nie die beeld wat jy van jouself het oortref nie. ‘n Lae selfbeeld plaas ‘n beperking op jou potensiaal. Waar kom ons lae selfbeeld vandaan? Van ander mense. Wanneer die belangrikste mense in jou lewe herhaaldelik vir jou sê dat hulle verwag dat jy nêrens gaan kom of niks waardevols gaan bereik nie, is dit wat jy uiteindelik van jouself begin glo. Dis soos om ‘n virus op jou rekenaar af te laai; dit vernietig jou Godgegewe potensiaal.
Wat is dan die antwoord? In plaas daarvan om dit wat ander mense van jou sê te glo, vind uit wat God van jou sê. Wie ken immers die waarde en potensiaal van ‘n produk beter as die vervaardiger wat dit gemaak het? Toe God vir Jeremia geroep het om ‘n profeet vir die volk Israel te wees, het Jeremia gesê: ‘…ek kan nie goed praat nie. Ek is ook te jonk!’ (Jeremia 1:6 NLV). Miskien kan jy met Jeremia identifiseer: ‘Ek is te jonk, of te oud, of nie die regte nasionaliteit nie, of nie opgevoed genoeg nie, of nie ryk genoeg nie.’ Let op wat God vir Jeremia geantwoord het: ‘Moenie sê jy is te jonk nie. Gaan na die mense waarheen Ek jou stuur en gee my boodskap vir hulle. Jy moet ook nie bang wees vir hulle nie. Ek sal by jou wees en jou beskerm!’ (verse 7-8 NLV).
Om jou selfbeeld te verander, beteken dat jy die manier wat jy met jouself praat moet verander. Om jouself as waardevol te sien, moet jy jouself begin sien soos God jou sien.
Sielskos: Job 11-14; Luk 17:11-19; Ps 11; Spr 8:4-5
Isaiah 43:4 NLT
If you want to be a 10 but your self-esteem is a 5, you will never achieve at the level of a 10. You will achieve a 5 or lower. Why? Because you cannot surpass the image you have of yourself. Low self-esteem puts a cap on your potential. So where does our low self-esteem come from? Other people. When the most important people in your life repeatedly tell you that they expect you to go nowhere and achieve nothing of worth, that’s what you eventually start believing about yourself. And it’s like downloading a virus into your computer; it destroys your God-given potential.
What’s the answer? Instead of believing what others say about you, find out what God says about you. After all, who knows the value and potential of a product better than the manufacturer who made it? When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nation of Israel, Jeremiah said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” (Jeremiah 1:6 NLT). Perhaps you can identify with Jeremiah: “I’m too young, or too old, or not the right nationality, or not educated enough, or not rich enough.” Note what God said to Jeremiah next: “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you” (vv. 7-8 NLT).
Changing your self-image begins with changing your self-talk. In order to see yourself as valuable, begin to see yourself as God sees you.
Soul food: Job 11-14; Luke 17:11-19; Ps 11; Prov 8:4-5
2025-03-12
Filippense 4:13 NLV
Toe God die eerste mens gemaak het, het Hy gesien dat sy skepping ‘goed’ was. Dit beteken dat elke persoon wat al ooit gebore is, insluitend jy, sade van sukses binne hom het. Al wat jy moet doen is om hulle water te gee en te voed; en hulle sal groei. Hoekom versuim so baie mense dan om hulle Godgegewe potensiaal in die lewe te bereik? Een van die sleutelredes is ‘n lae selfbeeld; hulle glo nie in hulself nie. Hulle beskik oor honderde moontlikhede, maar hulle oortuig hulself dat hulle nie in staat is om te leer en te groei tot iets wonderliks nie. As jy nie glo dat jy waardevol en die moeite werd is om in te belê nie, sal jy nooit die tyd en moeite wat nodig is om te ontwikkel tot wat God jou gemaak het om te wees, bestee nie.
Zig Ziglar het gesê: ‘Dit is onmoontlik om konsekwent op ‘n manier wat nie ooreenstem met hoe ons onsself sien nie, op te tree. Ons kan baie min dinge op ‘n positiewe manier doen as ons negatief oor onsself voel.’ Paulus was nederig. Hy was bewus van sy totale afhanklikheid van God. Hy het egter ook ‘n gesonde sin van sy selfwaarde gehad. Hier is wat hy aan die mense wat in hom geglo het en sy bediening ondersteun het, geskryf het: ‘Ek kan onder alle omstandighede regkom deur Hom wat my krag gee. Nietemin, julle het goedgedoen deur my in my swaarkry by te staan’ (verse 13-14 NLV). Die woord vir jou vandag is dus: Sien jouself as waardevol, want God doen.
Sielskos: Job 8-10; Luk 17:1-10; Ps 115; Spr 8:1-3
Philippians 4:13 AMPC
When God made the first man, He saw that his creation was “very good.” That means every person that has ever been born, including you, has seeds of success within them. All you need to do is water them and feed them, and they will grow. So why do many people fail to reach their God-given potential in life? One of the key reasons is low self-esteem; they don’t believe in themselves. They possess hundreds of possibilities, but they never nurture them because they have persuaded themselves that they’re incapable of learning and growing into something amazing. If you don’t believe you’re valuable and worth investing in, you will never spend the time and effort necessary to develop into what God made you to be.
Zig Ziglar said, “It’s impossible to consistently behave in a manner inconsistent with how we see ourselves. We can do very few things in a positive way if we feel negative about ourselves.” Paul was humble. He was aware of his total dependence on God. But He also had a healthy sense of self-worth. Here is what he wrote to those who believed in him and supported his ministry: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. But it was right and commendable and noble of you to contribute for my needs and to share my difficulties with me” (vv. 4:13-14 AMPC). So, the word for you today is – see yourself as valuable, because God does.
Soul food: Job 8-10; Luke 17:1-10; Ps 115; Prov 8:1-3
