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<figure id="attachment_759" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-759" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://www.witnesspath.com/2012/10/23/a-personal-mantra/spirit-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-759"><img class="size-medium wp-image-759" title="2 timothy 1:7" alt="spirit of power, love and self discipline" src="http://toddkmarsha.com/s/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2012/10/spirit-300x2401.jpg" width="300" height="240" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-759" class="wp-caption-text">Photo by Collin Harvey</figcaption></figure>
<p>Brothers and Sisters,</p>
<p>The truth will set us free.</p>
<p>Admitting you have a problem is half the battle.</p>
<p>Understanding why you behave a certain way is the key to changing your behavior.</p>
<p>Sound familiar? Above are some of the pillars of self help. There are a gazillion more, trust me. I’ve read many of them. They’re all true, to a degree.</p>
<p>The truth <em>does</em> set us free but what we decide to do with that freedom makes the difference. Admitting you have a problem <em>does</em> create a change in mindset but there’s still the other half of the battle to be fought. Understanding why we behave certain ways definitely is a key to changing but if we don’t use that key to open the door to new possibilities than we’re simply acknowledging our own mediocrity.</p>
<p>I am no longer interested in self help.</p>
<p>I have helped myself all I can. I’ve made some changes, good ones. I see the world differently now. I see the world differently enough to know my remaining character flaws are bigger than me. It’s time to turn them over to God and let him take control.</p>
<h4>God is Not Just My Co-Pilot</h4>
<p>In the past, when I’ve struggled with a particular character flaw, I’ve gone searching for my information about what has worked for other people. This time around, I’ve consulted scripture. Wouldn’t you know it – I found a perfect scripture verse to help me overcome my biggest flaw almost immediately after starting my search.</p>
<p>I’m turning it into my mantra. Yes, I know “mantra” is a word associated with Eastern philosophy but, when we look at a dictionary definition, it’s an ideal fit…</p>
<p><em>“A statement that is frequently repeated; a characteristic formula or refrain.”</em></p>
<p>Below is my go-to mantra. It’s what I say to myself when I feel fear building up inside me – when I want to run away and hide instead of facing the music…</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><em><strong>For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.</strong> </em></p>
<p style="text-align: center"><em>2 Timothy 1:7</em></p>
<p>Pretty powerful stuff. I needed something to remind me of how I was made. Something to remind me that the outside world creates fear, timidity, uncertainty, low self-esteem, and feelings of unworthiness. The spirit God has given me, and you, has none of that. Here’s what God has given all of us…</p>
<p><em>Power – knowing all things are possible through Him (Matthew 19:26)</em></p>
<p><em>Love – our highest calling, the two foremost commandments (Matthew 22:36-40)</em></p>
<p><em>Self-discipline – the ability to sacrifice, to forgo the “good” of the present for the great of the future (Hebrews 12:11)</em></p>
<h4>The Greatest Gifts of All</h4>
<p>We have it. We need not go out and look for it. We were all born with it – in our hearts. The world seeks to darken our hearts a little more each day. The world blasts messages at us from all directions and through all forms of media. We are not enough. We are not enough. We are not enough.</p>
<p>Wrong.</p>
<p>We are enough. I am enough. God says so. Who am I to have questioned Him for so long? Someone who listened to the world and believed what it told me. I still believe… in something different now. Something eternal and unchanging. Amen.</p>
<p>God bless,</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.witnesspath.com" rel="author">Todd Marsha</a></p>
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<p><strong><em>Question: Do you have a scripture verse you go to when the world starts weighing on you? I’d love for you to share it along with the story of how it was revealed to you. Please leave a comment below… </em></strong></p>
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