Happiness, like anything else in life, needs to be created, nurtured and understood.

There’s something I’ve noticed over the years. Most people tend to favour the body over the mind. People are taught, at very tender ages, to take care of their bodies. This is very common in the Western world – a child sustains an injury and the first thing he/she thinks about is to cover it up in order for it not to get infected.

We happen to know about physical hygiene but little or nothing about emotional hygiene. We spend more time taking care of our teeth than we do our minds. And even when we consider taking care of our minds, we readily think about seeing a shrink (a professional psychologist or therapist) and forget about the Word.

I’m not by this saying that you shouldn’t seek help from them—after all, you see a medical doctor when you’re under the weather. So, what’s the difference between that and a professional therapist?

Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
John 15:3 KJV

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
John 17:17 KJV

As believers, the Word is our first point of reference. Nothing cleans better than the Word—it can take care of both our physical (body) and emotional (soul) health (See, 3 John 2; Proverbs 4:22).

Every day, we sustain emotional injuries more than physical ones—like failure, rejection, frustration, etc., but ignore them. This can impact our lives in dramatic ways!

When people feel emotionally drained, all they do is to shake it off—like it’s all in their head. Do you have a broken leg and say, “I’ll just walk it off; it’s all in my leg?” These emotional injuries could distort our perceptions. And as such, we’ve got to treat these injuries. What better way is there than to meditate on the Word of God, pray in the Spirit, and do positive confessions of faith?

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…
Proverbs 23:7 KJV

Our thoughts run our lives. So, we must learn to think on the Word. And when we do so, we’d live a more fulfilling life.

Stop emotional bleeding! Learn to believe in yourself. Many things out there could cause us to fail in a certain way or feel inferior, especially if we came from a system where people spoke the wrong things to us. But we’ve got to take responsibility for ourselves and act the way we should (which is in line with God’s Word).

A preacher said, “Don’t have an inferiority complex but a superiority complex.” I don’t quite agree with this. Don’t be inferior and/or act it, but at the same time, don’t behave superior to other people; just act moderately like the Bible says.

Don’t let any negative thing get to you—just like you won’t get a knife and cut a wound open to see how deep it could get.

Use the Word of God to boost your self-esteem, instead of beating it to a pulp. Treat yourself with the same compassion you expect from someone else.

When you forgive someone for what he or she has done, I forgive them too. For when I forgive — if, indeed, I need to forgive anything — I do it in Christ’s presence because of you, in order to keep Satan from getting the upper hand of us; for we know what his plans are.
2 Corinthians 2:10‭-‬11 GNB

This is what Satan does; anytime you want to feel good, he brings thoughts from your past; the negative words that people have said to you. Thoughts like: you’re not good enough, etc.

You must not allow what people say define what you do. Only allow what the Word says, what God thinks about you and the One whom God has placed over your life determine what you say, think and feel about yourself. When you do this, Satan won’t get an upper hand of you.

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
John 10:10 AMPC

God created us to enjoy our lives. If you don’t enjoy your life, you’re dying. If you allow stress get to you, it can kill you, truncate a great future and leave all your accomplishments for others to grab. So, you must learn to refresh when you should, act well, talk smart and then grow your capacity for the things that you handle. Don’t be worked up by anyone.

In England, the Holy Spirit began to teach me some things; He said that you don’t need to argue with anybody to prove your point. When you start to argue with someone to prove your point, it shows that you don’t really have a point to prove and that you’re not even better than them.

For example, if you meet me and say that I’m poor, why should I argue with you to prove that I’m rich? Do you know what I’d do? I’ll tell you, “Thank you.” I haven’t agreed that I’m poor, but at the same time, I don’t need to argue with you that I’m rich. It’s not my business, because I’m not living to impress you.

Likewise, when people say things that you’re not, why argue with them? You can tell them that you’re not, but if they still insist, find a way to end the argument politely. Otherwise, you’ll be burning calories and working yourself up, unnecessarily.

You don’t need to fight people over their opinions. They can be right and you can be wrong. You can be right, and they can be wrong. You can be wrong while they’re right and your wrong is just good for you while their right is just best for them and vice versa. Their wrong might just be better for them to help them see the glory of God in your life or give glory to God or get to notice that they’re wrong and put an adjustment to their lives.

So, it’s important that you don’t get to reduce yourself for any reason, but believe in yourself and be smart.

I recently complimented someone about his shoes being very nicely fitted on him and he said something very profound; “I have just three pairs of shoes and they always look nice because I have been interchanging them. What good is it to have many shoes and not wear them? Isn’t that a waste of resources?” This got me thinking.

Please note that by this, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have shoes or that everyone shouldn’t have more than three pairs, but learn to be moderate in your dealings. And moreover, having lots of shoes doesn’t guarantee how good your personality is.

Permit me to redefine suffering: You’re not suffering in life when you don’t have money, but when you’re not living in the will of God or using your potentials in His will. So, when you tag your happiness, joy or suffering to material achievements, you’re not wise. True prosperity is in eternity and the miles you’re hitting in your eternal space – that’s how it is to be smart in the Spirit.

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Philippians 4:4‭-‬5 MSG

So, be confident in yourself. Let nobody reduce you and/or give you low self-esteem. Love yourself. Act smart. Act in wisdom. When you don’t know anything, ask questions and learn so you can get better.

Celebrate God all day, every day. You’re His best and He will love nothing more than to see you live His best for you.

Thank you!

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