The way we perceive the world is significantly shaped by our childhood experiences. If you grew up in a loving environment, you are likely to have a positive outlook on life. However, if your childhood was filled with negativity, it’s understandable that the world might seem more dangerous and untrustworthy.

I remember being extremely cautious and doubtful as a young adult. My lack of trust was so intense that I even struggled to trust myself. Deep down, I knew that hating oneself isn’t healthy, yet that was my reality for a long time. I’m not exactly sure when I started adopting this self-loathing attitude, but I vividly remember when I became aware of it. It hit me when I encountered the scripture urging us to love God wholeheartedly and to love others as we love ourselves. I realized that I did not trust myself, let alone love myself. I want to emphasize that it was the Holy Spirit nudging me that revealed this truth.

Throughout my youth, my relationship with God was inconsistent. I often found myself defending God against those who questioned His existence, yet I felt distant from Him and didn’t actively serve Him. For many years, I felt inadequate to serve God because I had set a particular standard for what it meant to be a Christian, and I didn’t think I met that standard. It wasn’t until I turned twenty-four that I finally embraced the title of Christian.

The first few years were quite challenging for me. Inside, I felt broken, and healing took time. The struggles that affected my life were deeply rooted and generational. My grandparents, my mother, and I all had broken hearts, just trying to navigate a world that felt untrustworthy. Even my faith was shaken, and when I read the Holy Bible, my understanding of scripture was often clouded by my troubled mindset.

The Written Word of God is a powerful tool. When guided by the Holy Spirit, it has the ability to heal your inner self, no matter how broken you may feel. God desires to lead you toward a path of restoration.

“And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” (Romans 12:2 AMP)

I used to struggle with an inner voice filled with self-loathing, rejection, shame, and self-pity. No matter how hard I tried to forget my past and live in the present, this negative inner voice would constantly remind me, “You are nothing, you come from nothing, and you will never be of any value.” It felt like a losing battle against my own mind. Like many others, I sought self-worth through relationships, my job, and my appearance. However, no matter what facade I presented to the world, I remained the same on the inside, and my self-destructive tendencies would eventually surface.

It wasn’t until God threw me a lifeline that things began to change.

Choose Your Path

I had to learn to prioritize the truth of God’s word over the negative thoughts in my mind. The choice is yours. When your inner voice or external circumstances imply that you have no value, decide to replace those harmful thoughts with the truth found in Scripture.

The Battle for the Mind, old thoughts filtered through the truth of scripture.

*******

Old Mind: You are alone.

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.” (John 14:16 – 18 AMP)

New Mind: The Holy Spirit lives inside of me, I am never alone.

*******

Old Mind: You are unloved.

“He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross [willingly offering Himself on it, as on an altar of sacrifice], so that we might die to sin [becoming immune from the penalty and power of sin] and live for righteousness; for by His wounds you [who believe] have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 AMP)

New Mind: My Father loves me so much, Adonai sent Yeshua (Jesus) to pay the price for my full restoration.

*******

Old Mind: You are your past.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” (2Corithians 5:17 AMP)

New Mind: I am a new child in Gods’ Family.

*******

Old Mind: You are orphaned.

“See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1 AMP)

New Mind: I have been adopted by God, I now have a new Father and family.

*******