If you struggle with being hard on yourself - without ever really intending to be so - read on to receive practical help on how to be "battle ready" from Kelly Balarie.
Elisa
Battle Ready: Evaluate Your Thoughts
By Kelly Balarie
Ever felt that panicked feeling?
It's that oh-no sense you get when you ram your car against the one behind you. Or, when you smash a heavy door right on your baby's 10-month-old toe (yes, this did happen to me). Or, when you speak what should have remained the unspeakable. Or, when your deepest fear is about to come true.
Panic steals peace. You cannot have both. Which is why, about a year-and-a-half ago, I decided I needed to learn how to be Battle Ready. I was tired of the same old trials and tribulations tumbling me to the floor with stress, worry and panic. Something had to change.
Are you in this place? Do horrible things keep on happening to you? Do those same feelings of angst, trepidation and fear keep coming? Do you easily lose faith in God's ability to come through for you?
It doesn't have to continue. Just because you've always done something, doesn't mean you have to keep doing it. Just as we love to see our children grow and learn, so does God love to see us forge a new direction with him ... especially with our thoughts.
Consider the following scenarios:
Scenario 1: You trip over the shoes that you left in the hallway last night. Your chin hits the floor with a loud thud! You meant to move them earlier, but you forgot.
Do you say to yourself:
a. I'm so stupid, or I am so forgetful.
b. Or, It's okay. Everyone forgets things sometimes.
Scenario 2: You blurt out, "When is the baby due?," and you realize the woman you are talking to isn't even pregnant, but it is too late. The words are out.
Do you say to yourself:
a. I am such an idiot, or I am always making a fool of myself.
b. Or, I am learning how to use wisdom with my words. God will be faithful to teach me.
Scenario 3: You share a lot one evening when you're together with a group of friends. You talk about things you're excited about. You tell people about some things you are going through.
Do you say to yourself:
a. I over-talked. I take up too much space. People think I'm annoying.
b. I can be who God created me to be. I don't have to fear what people think of me. God made me just right.
How we think in specific scenarios says a whole lot about how we think in life. Begin to observe your thought-life patterns. Thoughts are usually clear-cut: You're either hard on yourself or full of grace, full of God's truth or dwelling on lies, standing in faith or faltering in doubt.
People who are walking with God have to work on it. It doesn't come naturally. They renew their minds in Christ Jesus, they filter their thoughts, they consider the strategies that work so that they walk with God continually. These are the attributes of a person who is Battle Ready.
So how can you become Battle Ready? It can start with the following steps:
Think about what you are thinking about.
Check to see if aligns with God's truth.
Replace the lies with truth.
Take action based on that new thought.
Notice the better outcome.
These steps are a start, not the finish line in your journey to be Battle Ready. You can get there. You can be full of faith, strong in battle, sure when challenges hit and unwavering when enemy forces come up against you. You can be Battle Ready.
Kelly Balarie, an author and national speaker, is on a mission to encourage others not to give up. Through times of extreme testing, Kelly believes there is hope for every woman, every battle and in every circumstance. Her latest book is Battle Ready. She shares this hope on her blog, Purposeful Faith, and on many writing publications such as Relevant, Crosswalk, and Today's Christian Woman. Kelly's work has been featured on The Today Show, 700 Club Interactive, Moody Radio and other television and radio broadcasts. When Kelly is not writing, she is chilling at the beach with her husband, a latte, and two toddlers who rightfully demand she build them awesome castles.