What YOU Say to Yourself is IMPORTANT

In Matthew, 9:21, there is a key phrase from the woman who was sick for 12 LONG years. She was unclean, deemed incurable from physicians, and desperate. YET, the Bible quotes that she “said to herself IF only I touch [Jesus’] cloak I would be healed.”

This is important to highlight because what YOU and I say to ourselves matters. In fact, Norman Wright, in his book A Better Way to Think: How Positive Thoughts Can Change Your Life suggest that 70% of our thoughts are either negative or counterproductive.

Now… think about that for a moment:

·      We accumulate approximately 45,000 thoughts/day,

·      31,5000 of those thoughts are either negative or counterproductive (according to Mr. Wright),

·      IMAGINE what our lives would look like if 70% of our thoughts were positive?!?

So, what helped this lady have positive “self-talk”?

·      She had a revelation of who Jesus was - She knew that Jesus was the answer to her issue. Now… I do think this woman was desperate enough to do what it took to find healing… YET, it was her “self-talk” that actually helped her know that Jesus could be her answer. Who she thought of Jesus helped her respond to Jesus. Who is Jesus to you?

·      She had a positive outlook – She didn’t focus on the crowds swarming Jesus. She didn’t let her sickness stifle her or the issue of being unclean, she simply had a positive outlook. Honestly, we can ALL have negative outlooks to the situations we face, YET, this woman reveals the choice to either have a positive outlook or a negative one. What is your outlook?

·      She acted on an opportunity– self-talk, whether it is positive or negative – has an important effect on how we act. Furthermore, her self-talk helped her make the most of the opportunity of Jesus being in the region. What opportunity is waiting for you?

·      Her “self-talk” gave her faith – She put her faith in God, not her circumstances. She had a choice. In the same way, we have a choice to put our faith in our circumstances or in God.