Hello! I know I’m (a lot) late, but happy new year, haha! I’m going to be honest, I’ve had this blog post written for quite some time, but something in me kept putting it off to post it. That very well could be because I thought it was finished, but God thought otherwise. Since the new year has rolled around, I’ve been pondering the act of writing resolutions. Lists being made, because there is a desire to see or feel a change in one or more areas of life.
Instead of making a list of goals, on January 1st of 2021, I actually felt the need to make a bullet point list of truthful affirmations to recite each day. Why? Because a list of resolutions are just goals, but affirmations are the words you speak over yourself daily that make the real change. There is power in consistently speaking truth, and you know another word for consistent — faithful. This year, despite the unexpected & constant changes life has for me to live through, I have made it a set priority, an unwavering decision, to be consistently faithful with trusting God in a more disciplined way. With my words and with my actions.
Today I heard a speaker say, “Successful people tend to do consistently, what other people do occasionally.”
My idea of success is trusting God fully. So, what has to change? The words I persistently speak. The affirmations I’ve written pinpoint various insecurities & fears that I want to be successful in choosing not to believe anymore, simply because they are lies. If I want to reap a harvest of peace, I have to begin intentionally sowing the seeds that will result in that. Don’t like the harvest you’re reaping? Change the seeds you’re sowing!
That leads me to ask the questions:
What words have you been speaking/sowing? Do they change the trajectory of your mindset to be fixed on Jesus?
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
Most of the time when you hear the word ‘affirmations’ people think of statements like:
- I am smart.
- I am beautiful.
- I am enough.
Technically, those words are very true, but they’re just too simple for me. The affirmations I am about to share with you, are powerful phrases that I speak over myself each day and have fueled me with greater faith. In the year of 2020, I feel that we’ve all felt a sense of instability and, if you’re anything like me, it can be hard to encourage your own self at times. You can’t always depend on other people (or the media) to speak life into you, or expect other sources to give you the truth you need to hear. One thing my Mom has always reminded me of is that, David had to learn to encourage himself in the Lord, so we must also do that.
1 Samuel 30:6
David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.
The following affirmations are prayers that have truly strengthened my heart. I no longer feel the need to rely on other people or circumstances to give me assurance.
- Lord, you heard me the first time, thank you. The things I’ve been praying about for so long, belong to you.
- I give you permission to do what you want to, when you want to, in my life.
- I trust, hope & believe in your timetable, not my own.
- You love me and you want good things for me. I won’t forget the depth of your love for me today, help me to better comprehend that love.
- I will live in excitement and expectancy for your sweet and sure, “yes.”
- The blessings of today are enough for me.
- I will not worry about what tomorrow may or may not bring. I will thank you for what I have and what you have promised me.
- I will not allow myself to focus on what I lack and let myself get distracted from all the good right here in front of me. You know the plans you have for me and they are good & full of hope.
- I will not see my current circumstances as a burden, but as a blessing. I will not let bitterness stifle my hope in your goodness and faithfulness in my life.
- I will not let the disappointment I face make me operate insensitively towards others.
- I will rejoice in today and be glad in it. I will not let the enemy distort my perspective on the season I am in, what God is doing, who I am, or what I have.
- I am strong enough to live in my current circumstances by letting God’s great power sustain me.
- Jesus is good (Psalm 34:8, Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!)
- Jesus is good to me (Psalm 13:6, I will sing to the LORD because he is good to me.)
- Jesus hears me (Psalm 116:2, Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!)
- Jesus cares about me (Isaiah 41:10, Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.)
- Jesus makes all things possible (Matthew 19:26, Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”)
- Jesus is working all things out for my good (Romans 8:28, And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.)
- Jesus loves me more than any human ever could (Ephesians 3:18-19, And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.)
Honestly, I’ve recited these words so much I just about have them memorized now. When I choose to speak these words, I try to say them slowly & intentionally, because I am making the choice to believe them wholeheartedly and putting in the effort to remember them. Since reading these statements aloud & consistently, I have felt more joy, more peace, more assurance, more encouragement, and more security. Speaking truth is the perfect way to combat the enemy’s lies and relieve ourselves from the weight of the world. I highly recommend you write your own affirmations or use some of mine, they are game-changers for sure!
Luke 18:1
Always pray and never give up.
Love & Blessings,
Hannah