Daily Dose - April 16, 2020
Loving ourselves with kindness is to be tenderhearted, compassionate, agreeable, softhearted, empathetic, warmhearted, understanding, friendly, pleasant, helpful, gentle, and warm toward ourselves.
The scripture says in Ephesians 4:29,32 (ESV) to “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear… Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
How often do we find ourselves doing the exact opposite with ourselves? Castigating ourselves for a mistake. Criticizing our looks, our bodies, the sound of our voice, our laugh, our cry. Bombarding ourselves with a constant string of mental and verbal assaults: you will never be good enough, nothing good will ever happen to you, you are a loser, you will always be a loser, no one will ever want to marry you, you’re so stupid, you’re going to hell for what you did… God doesn’t love you, God will never forgive you, it’s too late for you.
And that my friends is the root issue. Self-hate is a lie and trick of the devil to (try to) make us believe that we are so horrible that God does not and will never love us. That is the biggest, most egregious of lies.
The absolute truth is God sacrificed his only son – allowed him to be killed – for us, as atonement and forgiveness for every mistake we would ever make, because he loves you and me, so that we may have a direct relationship with him (John 3:16).
Today, be aware of the cruel thoughts toward yourself that run through your mind or spill from your lips. When you catch them, simply say: “A man who is kind (towards himself) benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.” (Proverbs 11:17 ESV)
Love yourself today.
1 Corinthians 13:4(b); Ephesians 4:32; Proverbs 11:17
Minister Sapphire Jule King
#SelfLoveMinistry
#OpenAndReceive
Self-Love Affirmation
Just for today, I choose to shower myself with kindness. I speak gently to myself when I make a mistake. I think warm thoughts about my progress in life. I speak tenderly about my body. I know God loves me. I love you, [your name here]!
Open and Receive:
- Stand in front of a mirror.
- Look into your eyes.
- Say the affirmation aloud.
- Repeat several times throughout the day.
It may feel strange, but keep trying! Let the truth set you free.
1 Corinthians 13:4(b); Ephesians 4:32; Proverbs 11:17
Minister Sapphire Jule King
#SelfLoveMinistry
#OpenAndReceive
5 Minute Fill-Up
Love yourself with kindness by speaking life into your challenges: I am more than an overcomer; God will bring me out better than I was before. Speak life to the dark thoughts, addictions, cravings, loneliness, fear: God gave me a spirit not of fear and timidity but of power, of (self) love, and sound mind. Speak life into the endings: behold, God is doing a new thing in my life; I see it and receive it!
Get your fire back. Crank it loud and sing it proud!
1 Corinthians 13:4(b); Ephesians 4:32; Proverbs 11:17
Minister Sapphire Jule King
#SelfLoveMinistry
#OpenAndReceive
Self-Love Nightcap
I felt today. I found myself being transported back to those rejected phone calls, letters, and visits I initiated as a child toward this particular adult figure in my life. I kept hearing perfect, perfection, just be perfect repeatedly in my memory.
I am naturally a super organized, precise, exacting person. However, God is revealing that my former perfection obsession started in those moments of rejection and separation. At five and six years of age, I started turning on myself, sealing off the internal connection chamber, and dimming my light.
This revelation is new although God has walked me through several examinations of this particular issue before. Reflecting on the scriptures about how kindness nourishes the soul but cruelty destroys it, I can easily see how my interpretation of the other person’s actions led to a false belief that something was wrong with me.
I believed for decades that something was wrong with me expressing my wants, needs, and opinions. No one wants to hear that. Be quiet. Keep it to yourself. Look at you. It’s no wonder why this person would not want to have anything to do you.
Those negative (and very false) beliefs certainly opened the door to years of self-destructive behavior like looking for “love” in the bottom of liquor bottles, at the end of divinely unsuccessful suicide attempts, and other unhealthy places.
I just need to sit with this. In all these years of my healing journey, I never knew – or allowed myself to fully grasp – the significant impact that experience had on the trajectory of my life…
1 Corinthians 13:4(b); Ephesians 4:32; Proverbs 11:17
Minister Sapphire Jule King
#SelfLoveMinistry
#OpenAndReceive