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Saturday, July 30, 2011

Using the Power Inside



If you have been following the Genesis series, I recently wrote that although we are not divine, we are made of divine stuff. Often this is a difficult thing to see, especially in ourselves.


It is amazing how things frequently work together. A few nights ago I attended an online chat where the topic was empowerment. What it is, what it means to us, how we give it- and what that means to others.


We can be and should be empowered by ourselves, and other people- our parents, our family members, our employers, etc. And we will talk about this element in the future, but today I’d like to focus on dealing with the power we already possess.


We give our power away. In countless ways we let the forces of nature, the Fates, the angels, the weather, the opinions of others, the past, fear of the future, almost anything, keep us imprisoned


How do we become prisoners?


Everything that we do, every interaction that we have has some kind of impact on us. Positive interactions should be a boost, while negatives are generally downers.


The problem is that we fixate and focus on the negative interactions and the negative talk that goes with them. We then take the next step by taking the external input into recurring loops of self-deprecating self-talk. You know- “I’m not good enough,” “I’m not smart enough,” whatever your favorite is.


How do we give our power away? We do this in a number of ways:


  • We do things that we don’t want to do


  • We are reticent to say “No” to things we don’t want to be involved in or don’t care about


  • We are slaves to being “liked


  • We spend time with people we don’t really enjoy because there is something to be gained from them, some benefit to be derived; like a promotion.


  • When we blame others for everything that happens to us

We defeat ourselves before we even get started and then let others jump on. We let other people put values on us which are well below the value we should place on ourselves.


What do I want? What would your day feel like if you stood in the mirror first thing in the morning and said,

“Today, I take control of my destiny? I will control the things that I can and I will release those I cannot!”


Dig yourself out of that pit.

Value yourself.

Seize your power!


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Here are 3 examples of ministries and diet that go along with them.
People ministry you need patience, hope, and love in your diet. Helps ministry you need time for yourself, and devotion, renewal is a must in your diet. Leadership ministry you need humility, and sharpmindedness in your diet. Peace and Love
Pastor Stewart
Psst pass it around!!!