A CONFIDENT HEART – When Doubt Whispers “I’m Not Good Enough”
1. What area of your life – as a woman, mom, wife, friend, daughter, housekeeper, professional leader, etc. – do you currently struggle with most in believing you are not good enough?
Inasmuch as I am already in my senior years and have retired from my job, I no longer have struggles career-wise. Most of my waking hours are spent at home (either in my own home or in the home of my daughter). Being a caregiver of my mentally challenged brother, I have the feeling that I am not good enough because there are times that I don’t know how to deal with him whenever he has episode attacks. Another struggle is the fact that my husband prefers to be with the company of his drinking buddies than to be with me. I am sad to say that he has been doing this since my youngest daughter was born, and that was more than three decades ago!
2. Has anyone ever said or done anything to make you feel rejected? If so, describe what happened and what that circumstance led you to believe about yourself.
It was in my second job after graduation that I was able to get hired as a regular employee (the first one was a temporary job). It was a large company, and I had a comparatively good starting salary, but it was my boss who became my problem because he was a bully. I was relatively young, and of course with my kind of temperament – submissive and timid, his constant bullying made me believe that I was not good; that I did not have common sense, that I was hopeless.
3. Go back and review the “Who I am in Christ” chart. Highlight verses that speak to your heart most about believing you are accepted, secure or significant. Choose seven of the verses/promises and write them on note cards. Read and pray out loud a different one each day this week.
I am a child of God: John 1:12 - But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.
I have been bought with a price and I belong to God: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 - "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances: Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.
I am confident God will complete the good work He started in me: Philippians 1:6 - being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
I have been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind: 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
I am God’s workmanship: Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
I can do all things because the Lord gives me strength: Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
4. Reread the stories of Eve and of Jesus being tempted. What are the common lies Satan tried to get them to believe?
Satan tried to deceive Eve by saying that God did not want them to eat the fruit because if they ate it, they would be like God, knowing good and evil. Eve must have been content with what they had before Satan deceived her. God had placed her and her husband Adam in the Garden of Eden where all their needs were supplied. But then Satan convinced her that there was something missing in her life, thus she disobeyed God’s commandment not to eat the fruit, and even gave some to her husband, Adam.
In the same way, Satan tempted Jesus. After fasting for 40 days, Jesus was hungry. Satan challenged Jesus to turn the stones into bread to prove that He was the Son of God. Then he brought Jesus to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple, telling Him to jump because if He was the Son of God, angels would come to catch Him so He would not fall to the ground. Finally, Satan led Jesus to a very high mountain peak and showed Him the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, telling Him that He would give these kingdoms to Him if Jesus would bow down and worship him.
5. What were the different ways Eve and Jesus responded to Satan’s lies? Eve believed Satan’s lies.
Eve let Satan convince her that God’s promise and provisions are not good enough. She disobeyed God’s command not to eat the fruit.
Jesus refuted Satan with the Word of God: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4). “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7). “’Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” (Matthew 4:10).
6. Do you recognize Satan as a spiritual bully who wants to intimidate and defeat you? How will you take what you know now and prepare yourself for the daily battles when he tries to steal your confidence as a child of God?
Yes, I now recognize Satan as a spiritual bully. I now recognize that he is the one who has been making me believe that I am not good enough; he has been the one who magnifies to me my limitations. In order to prepare myself for the daily battles, I must put God’s Word into my heart; I must always remember that I am a child of God and as such, all things will work together for good; and that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
7. What are one or two AM (against me) thoughts you are currently dealing with? What FM (for me) thoughts from God’s promises will you replace them with?
When doubt comes against me, saying I shouldn’t get my hopes up because I’ll only be disappointed, I will depend on the truth that God is for me! He has plans for my life that are filled with purpose and hope (Jeremiah 29:11). When doubt comes against me, saying I can’t do something because it’s too hard, I will cling to the truth that God is for me! He says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
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