Asleep At The Wheel; Taking Back Control Of Your LifeSample

Jesus himself said, “The most important commandment is this: ... You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.” The Word of God is very clear on the command to love Him with all of our being.

The dilemma, however, comes in the second part of that command. You cannot fully submit yourself to the desires of God and His purpose for your life if you can’t obey one of the two greatest commands He ever spoke. You know you must love your neighbor as yourself. The problem is, you don’t love yourself very well; so by default, you give your neighbors the same lackluster, half-hearted love you allow yourself. It’s amazing how we can so freely give love and grace to everyone but ourselves.

In order to overcome your struggles with self-love, you must do two things. First, you must uncover the origin of your lack of self-love. At what point in your life did the enemy creep into your mind and start planting falsehoods about your identity into your heart? Whom did he use to tear you down and cause you to believe those lies? Was it the playground bully? Was it a teacher? It may have even been a pastor, a close friend, a family member, or even a spouse. The enemy doesn’t care whom he uses to tear you down. In order to build a healthy practice of loving yourself, you must specifically identify his lies and call them out.

The second thing you must do is identify God’s truths about you. You are the apple of God’s eye, and His truths will directly contradict the lies the enemy has fought to make you believe. God’s truth is that you are His masterpiece, perfectly handcrafted and uniquely designed for a specific purpose. God desires for you to live a life knowing that you are deeply loved by Him, and even when it feels like no one else cares, He’s always there to give rest, life, love, and all the care your heart can handle. It’s time to stop the negative self-talk and begin affirming yourself with the fundamental truths God spoke about you in His inspired Word!

Vital Reflections to discuss or journal about:
What’s one thing that jumped out at you in today’s Devo? What is God is saying to you through it? Say a prayer asking God to help you apply it to your life.