Linda Buishas
Nine little words, lovingly spoken: “You is smart. You is kind. You is important.” In this heartwarming scene from the 2011 movie The Help, Abilene Clark hoped that little Mae Mobley would grow to know her value. Abilene knew the power words can have over our lives.
From New Scientist or Psychology Today to The Huffington Post to the Bible, one doesn’t have to look far to find explanations for thoughts and words having power to affect how we see ourselves and the world.
A Psychology Today article suggested that positive belief, hope, and expectation can trigger self-healing powers. Quantum physicists tell us that our thoughts and words create vibrations that affect every cell in our body, as well as the outside world. The Word of God, my ultimate source, tells us in Proverbs 18:20-21 that there is power in our words, and they produce a harvest, whether good or bad, life or death.
Once we know how God sees and values us, it changes us. God, because of His great and wonderful love for us, gave us a new identity in Christ. Our value does not lie in what we do, nor who we are outside of Him, but in who we are because of Him. He so loved the world that He sent His only Son to redeem us. We are made in His image, and He knit us in our mothers’ wombs. We are daughters and sons of the high priest, seated in high places, with Jesus at the throne of Grace, victorious over all things, born again into new life with our Savior by grace through faith. No head bowing nor feet shuffling in shame, no thinking, “I’m not good enough.” Christ has made us worthy. It’s God-given esteem, not self-esteem that makes us hold our heads up high and show our light to the world. Our God-given righteousness is based on who God says we are, what He says we have, and what He says we can do.
Whether one believes in science or scripture, calls it “mind-body connection” or “faith,” the fact remains that our words and thoughts affect our lives. Healthy thoughts come from a healthy mind, and what better way to fill our minds than with who God says we are? Come, praise Him with me because we are fearfully and wonderfully made; His works are wonderful… (Psalm 139:14)
What an incredibly blessed life it would be if we held God’s Words in our hearts and listened and learned more from them every day. How awesome to drown out any negative words the world or our past tries to tell us.
When you look in the mirror today, hear the sweet sound of His voice telling you, “You are altogether beautiful and fair. There is no flaw nor blemish in you.” (Song of Solomon 4:7)
You are important. You are uniquely beautiful. You are loved. You are wondrously made! Happy Valentine’s Day!