7-Day Mental Health ChallengeParaugs

Day 3: Take 10 Minutes for Quiet Meditation with God

One of the challenges you'll encounter in this 7-day challenge is filtering your words towards others. However, we understand that this can be particularly difficult when others have hurt us with their words, actions, or behaviors. I can personally relate to this experience. As the Lord was working on redeeming my life and prompting me to speak life over myself, my daughter, and my now husband, I encountered various negative voices.

They told me that my daughter would turn out just as bad as I was and that my husband shouldn't marry me because of my mental health struggles. Furthermore, I faced ridicule due to a visible scar on my face from my early school years into adulthood.

In many ways, these hurtful statements created a cycle of negativity where I would speak ill of others, they would retaliate, and the cycle would continue. I was angry, and so were they!

When the Lord impressed upon me the need to filter my words about others, I understood the importance of doing so. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, I recalled Jesus' words, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first," Secondly, I remembered Jesus' warning, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also."

Therefore, before embarking on the challenge of filtering your words towards others, which may prove to be the most difficult one, we want to challenge, better yet, encourage you to take 10 minutes of quiet meditation on the two scriptures we shared. This practice is to be integrated into your daily routine as you progress, adding them to the 7-day challenge. Feel free to choose different scriptures for each time you meditate. However, for today, we suggest focusing on these particular verses as they'll be especially relevant tomorrow when the challenge involves filtering your words towards anyone who may be rude or bothersome to you.