For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. [Psalm 139:13-14 (CSB)]
Today’s socks tell me, “I am perfectly made” and remind me of Psalm 139’s affirmation that, “I have been remarkably and wondrously made.” All of my low-cut athletic socks have pithy affirmations woven into the toes. Depending on what pair I choose, I’m reminded that I have hope or that I’m loved, brave, strong, grateful, kind, powerful, blessed, or thankful. My favorite pair, however, tell me, “I am with you always!” It may seem silly, but there are times, especially during difficult days, when I recall the day’s affirmation on my feet and I stand a little more assuredly.
What we say to others matters, but what we say to ourselves matters even more! The way we speak to ourselves determines how we relate to everything and everyone else! Affirmations replace the negative talk we hear from others as well as the trash talk we say to ourselves! Shifting our minds toward the positive can change the direction we’re taking and lead us to a better destination!
I thought of my socks during church last week when the soloist sang Megan Woods’ lovely song, “The Truth.” The song opened with the sad words, “How many times can you hear the same lie before you start to believe it? The enemy keeps whisperin’ to me… Lord, I don’t wanna listen to the lies anymore.” The negative words we hear our heads are gifts from the enemy—Satan, the Father of lies. He might say that we’re not pretty enough, capable enough, or good enough. He’ll whisper that we’re too young, too old, too fat, too skinny, too tall, or too short. His words tell us we can’t when we can and we shouldn’t when we should. When we pray, he murmurs that God’s not there. Telling us we’re worthless sinners, he claims our past defines us, we don’t deserve happiness, and that we’re unworthy, unlovable, and unforgiveable! The enemy with his lies is camping out rent-free in our heads and his scorn, disparagement, and belittling can make quite a ruckus in there.
Our best defense against the enemy’s lies is keeping God’s truth in our hearts! While my affirmation socks can be found on Amazon, the God’s truth is found in the pages of our Bibles! It is filled with affirmations of who we are in Christ. Instead of socks telling us we are loved or have hope, we have Jeremiah 31:3 telling us that God loves us with an everlasting love and Psalm 62:5 telling us our hope comes from God! While my socks may say I’m strong, Romans 8:37 tells us we’re more than conquerors through Christ! When the enemy tries to take up residence in our minds, let’s remember that Scripture tells us we can stand against his schemes because we’re clothed in the armor of God (Eph 6:11). Our socks don’t need to say, “I am with you always,” because God promised He will never leave nor abandon us (Deut 31:6). God’s word reassures us that we have the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. (Phil 4:7)
The Bible tells us truth—we are God’s beloved children! He lived and died for us! Never forget that we are God’s workmanship and God doesn’t make junk! Indeed, we are “remarkably and wondrously made.”
The truth is I am my Father’s child
I make Him proud and I make Him smile
I was made in the image of a perfect King
He looks at me and wouldn’t change a thing
The truth is I am truly loved
By a God who’s good when I’m not good enough
I don’t belong to the lies, I belong to You
And that’s the truth!
[Jeff Pardo/Matthew West/Megan Woods]
Back in 1957 (long before PETA existed), Curt Richter, a professor at Johns Hopkins, conducted a series of cruel and inhumane experiments to demonstrate the power of hope and resilience in overcoming difficult situations. In this case, the difficult situation was rats being put in a bucket of water with no means of escape and timing how long it took them to drown. After two preliminary experiments, Richter hypothesized that introducing hope to the rats would increase their survival times.
Occasionally, I’ll spot a partially open moonflower (Ipomoea alba) during an early morning walk at the park. While the Moonflower’s cousin the Morning Glory opens wide to welcome the sunlight, the Moonflower prefers darkness. It’s only when the sun sets that it opens to a large trumpet-shaped bloom. Rather than competing during the day with brightly colored flowers for pollinators like bees and butterflies, Moonflowers enjoy pollinators like bats and moths at night. As the morning sun rises, the Moonflower again rejects the light and rolls up into itself.
After Israel accepted the Lord’s Covenant, Moses returned to the base of Mt. Sinai with Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. It was then that every one of those men gazed upon the God of Israel from afar and ate a covenant meal in His presence. Before Moses departed to climb up the mountain to receive the stone tablets, he entrusted the Israelites to Aaron and the elders who then went back to their camp. Moses, accompanied by his servant/apprentice Joshua, climbed a short way up the mountain and a cloud covered it. The two men made camp and stayed there for the next six days. On the seventh day, God called to Moses from within the cloud and the Israelites’ leader disappeared into the mist.
Built by her husband’s grandfather in the 1920s, my friend’s house was filled with much of the original furniture. Many pieces (like the restored grand piano) were valuable antiques but decades of use had taken their toll on others. Although the beautiful little mahogany side chair looked solid, a note saying “Broken—do not use” rested on it. Pretty as it was, the chair was useless and an invitation to disaster. Should the warning go unnoticed, some unknowing person could end up sprawled on the floor surrounded by splintered wood.
Devotions of the Heart 