Overcoming Negative Internal Messages Can Open Up Paths to Service
Contact: Ty Mays,
InChrist Communications,
770-256-8710
ATLANTA, Jan. 21, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- This month nearly half of all Americans will make New Year's resolutions. However, if the past is any indication of the future, only eight percent will successfully keep them. When we fail to achieve our goals, it's easy to point to external obstacles or blame a lack of willpower.
But what if the real culprit is a subtle form of self-sabotage?
Stephen Seamands, Ph.D, writes about his experience helping ministry students discover and pursue their callings in a recent issue of "Unfinished," a publication of The Mission Society. Often, Seamands writes, feelings of self-rejection and negative internal messages prevent these young people from realizing their potential.
The Mission Society's president, Max Wilkins, says, "We seek to connect those called to cross-cultural ministry with areas of need all around the world. But in order for them to pursue the calling God has placed in their hearts, they often need to learn to quiet the negative voices in their heads."
This principle applies to more than just missionaries. "Dismissing messages of self-rejection is essential for any Christian who wants to pursue God's best for their lives," Wilkins says. "The latest issue of 'Unfinished' focuses on helping Christians find their place of service in God's kingdom, and we feel Seamands' article perfectly addresses where that search must start for so many of us."
In the article, Seamands offers some practical tips for moving beyond self-inflicted limitations. The first step in overcoming negative internal messages is to address self-rejection. Seamands writes, "For the past 20 years, as I've engaged in spiritual counsel with seminary students, especially in the ministry of healing prayer, I have come to realize how deeply rooted self-rejection is in so many of us."
The power to move beyond these entrenched attitudes, according to Seamands, comes from accepting the love of God. He challenges readers, "Would you let God love you—even in those parts of yourself and your life-story you have hated and looked down upon?"
Accepting that divine love affects more than our individual spiritual health; it also plays a crucial role in our ability to love and serve others. As Seamands puts it, "Before we know God's heart of love for those to whom we are sent, don't we first need to know and experience God's love for us?"
In his article, Seamands provides several examples of Christians whose lives were transformed when they learned to reject self-rejection. And he offers readers some advice for accessing that same transformation, urging them to ask God a question.
"Ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to love yourself and those parts of yourself as God loves you. The Father calls you His beloved. It's time for you to call yourself 'beloved' too."
Seamand's article is just one of many resources The Mission Society offers to help Christians recognize and answer God's call. Visit www.themissionsociety.org to subscribe to "Unfinished" and to explore the many service options presented by The Mission Society.
Founded in 1984 in the Wesleyan tradition, The Mission Society (www.themissionsociety.org) exists to mobilize and deploy the body of Christ globally to join Jesus in His mission, especially among the least-reached peoples. The Mission Society recruits, trains and sends Christian missionaries to minister around the world. Its church ministry department provides seminars, workshops and mentoring for congregations in the United States and abroad, helping equip churches for outreach in their communities and worldwide. The Mission Society has 180 missionaries serving in 35 countries.
