Check Yourself

Good Afternoon my brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that you’ve spent this week living with purpose and intention. I want you to take the time to perform a Self-Check. I was riding around with my husband last night, and we started talking about our growth as children of God. The conversation led to me explaining how I find myself performing Spiritual Self-Checks to make sure I’m in alignment with the Will of God throughout my daily interactions.

The Word of God says,

“Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?” (2 Corinthians 13:5 AMP)

 ^‘Therefore, believers, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you [be sure that your behavior reflects and confirms your relationship with God]; for by doing these things [actively developing these virtues], you will never stumble [in your spiritual growth and will live a life that leads others away from sin]; for in this way entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided to you.” (2 Peter 1:10-11 AMP)

Wow! When I read these two scriptures I had a vision of the Lord standing before me saying, “You are a reflection of me; so act right. You hear me?” Lol. But it’s so true. We are in a relationship with the Father, and how we behave solidifies that relationship. How can two walk together unless they agree? So Yeshua creates a guide in the bible that maps out how we ought to behave in order to confirm a relationship with Him.

Here are some things you can do when performing a Self-Check.

• Evaluate Your Priorities. Take the time to write out a list of your daily activities. Don’t say God is your number one priority, but you’re not spending time with Him. If you’re at work majority of the time, grab dinner on the way home, watch TV once you get home, squeeze in some family time at the end of your night, then you finish with the Lord’s Prayer. Your list should reflect those activities in that order. Remember, your priorities are the things you’re investing your time in. (Self-Check: Ask yourself where on my priority list does the development of my relationship with Yeshua fall? If He doesn’t fall at the top of your list then start adjusting your daily life around spending time with Him; DO NOT adjust spending time with Him around your daily life.)

• Be Intentional About Your Responses. You can’t control what people say to you. However, you can control how you respond to people. Working in the healthcare field I am challenged daily with high-intensity situations. More often than not I am bombarded with an overload of tasks. Some that belong to me, and others that don’t. I’ve recently adopted the understanding that “I’m only one person. I can’t do everything, but I Can Do Something.” This mantra allows me to have peace in the midst of chaos.

Let’s Go a Little Deeper. How are you responding to yourself when the enemy tries to torment you in your mind; stirring up memories of your past? When I’m faced with moments like this I have to be intentional about my response. Since he likes to bring up my past I like to bring up my present. He may say, “Don’t forget who you are! Abused, abuser, liar, adulterer, alcoholic, porn addict, worthless, financially irresponsible,  inconsistent, and double-minded.” My response, “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. You’re bringing up things that are far from me. Things that I fell out of agreement with a long time ago. I’m not ashamed of who I was, because look at who I am now. I AM free from sexual immorality, truthful, faithful, sober, financially responsible, worthy, consistent, and rooted in God. I was washed by the blood of the lamb. Jesus died for my sins so that I can walk in my freedom. He’s already paid the price for me so I can stand up tall, and relish in my victory. My testimony is the evidence of His greatness.”

Remember, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” 2 Corinthians 5:17

(Self-Check: Are you taking the time to assess your reactions? If not, you ought to start checking yourself. It’s always better to think before you speak.) 

• Acknowledge How You’re Feeling. You have to stop ignoring your feelings. I spent so many years suppressing my emotional health that it was foreign for me to admit how I felt. Generationally, I was taught that I had to be strong. No matter what was going on in my life I was taught that I had to operate in survival mode. This taught me three things: 1) How to get the job done. 2) How NOT to be successful at communicating. 3) How to ignore my mental and emotional health.

I have struggled my entire life with communicating how I feel. In relationships, I allowed people to treat me any kind of way, because I didn’t acknowledge how I felt. As I become more mindful of me Yeshua is showing me how to acknowledge how I’m feeling while placing those feelings in their appropriate place. You can do the same thing by performing these steps:

“Acknowledging Yourself Checklist”

1. Ask yourself how you’re feeling.
2. Acknowledge that it’s ok for you to feel this way. Good or bad.
3. Establish the reason you’re feeling this way. List these reasons as your triggers.
4. Discover ways to combat this feeling if the feeling causes you to be in a state of mind that isn’t parallel to how Yeshua requires you to be. (Do this by finding out what the bible says about this feeling.)
5. Discover ways that will support how you’re feeling if the feeling causes you to be in alignment with the Word of God. (Do this by finding the scriptures that bring you confirmation about how you’re feeling.)
6. Take the time to put into practice these steps daily.

When you acknowledge how you’re feeling you’re able to be intentional about yourself. You’re able to put your mental health into proper position. You’re able to fix your mind on the solution instead of the problem. You’re able to meditate on what is right which will ultimately direct you towards operating at your highest level of self. (Self-Check: Are you someone who suppresses their feelings? If so, start to acknowledge NOT dismiss them. Once you’ve acknowledged them follow the above 6 steps so that you are able to be purposely in your mental and emotional health.)

As always it’s been great spending this time with you. I pray that you will spend a little extra time “Checking Yourself.” Blessings.