I am the firmest believer that "what you think, will be so". And I can say this because I was a firm believer in that "your thinking doesn't really affect your life" for most of my life. Even when I dedicated my life to God, and believed in His Word, I thought that the way I thought, there wasn't much hope for change. My hope was in believing that my faith would supersede my thoughts, the good outweighing the bad... And that's where the devil wanted me - confused & deadset on disbelieving God's power.

But things started to change in my life when my quiet times were more on point, prayer times were more frequent, alone & with others, (and therapy)(given to me by God), and I came across a scripture that opened some doors for me:

For the longest time, I was afraid of confronting the devil. I began to believe that if I casted him away in the name of Jesus, ok... But this scripture tells me that the devil has no power over me, not because I'm Cecil, but because I'm God's disciple. You see, the devil will talk to you, so you better learn how to talk back. (Think about it - if you let him talk down to you, and you just take it, it's an abusive relationship). All he has to do is whisper a word or two into my ear, and i would do the rest... strap myself in and take a ride on the downward spiral. But that's now how God wants us to live, much less have that mentality.

But just because "these words" are now in your mental library, that's it!?!? Life is good!?!? Not at all. We need to reinforce these words through constant study & prayer.

What you think is where you'll go. If you think bitter or selfish thoughts, you will live a bitter & selfish life. But when you have God's Word "always on your lips... Then you will be prosperous and successful." When the devil begins to whisper, do what Jesus did in Luke 4:1-13: "the devil said to [Jesus]..." and "Jesus answered...". And we know that we can do what He did.

I always love (but have the hardest time remembering this, especially when times get tough) that our relationship with God is like owning a Bugatti Veyron - $2 million car that can drive up to 250mph. We have the style, the power, the speed, the status... but we never drive it faster than 65mph! In fact, we never drive it, but keep it in the garage! Underneath a tarp! Although you may want to do that with a $2 million car, but that is not how God wants our relationship to be! He wants you to get it out on the road, and let the engine breath! He wants you to know this relationship with Him, from bumper to bumper, believing in what it can do for you!

I know for a fact that I will not stand for one moment and allow my son to not believe in himself, or to talk badly about himself. But yet, i will allow myself to wallow in self-misery when I have God's love,m forgiveness & power on my side!