How to Overcome Self-sabotage
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
Rev. Betty King is a highly respected and internationally recognized Christian leader, pastor, and visionary, author, entrepreneur, mentor & host of also The Cry TV show on GODTV, she leads a globally recognized ministry that focuses on bringing biblical, real-world, lasting impact that truly reflects the heart of God into every sphere of influence.
This article is something that I have written based on what I have learned deeply with my time with the Lord. I’ve know that Jesus Christ truly changes people’s lives and I pray that as I share this article wholeheartedly and truthfully from where this experience into overcoming self-sabotage was gained, that it would really bless you.
I would warmly invite you to read and listen regardless of whatever you may currently believe, and see the wisdom that comes from God. For those part of the body of Christ, may this article truly bless you and give you insight for the days ahead.
But I speak to the body of Christ. In the times we are living in, we need one another. This is not the time to rejoice when one falls. It is time to build up our army. We are all each other has. Let us not give room to the enemy to believe that our God is not strong.
For those who may not be Christians, you can definitely agree we need each other. No one does things by themselves. I have seen, and I am deeply grateful, for the wise men and women and for the level of unity and understanding we are experiencing in the Body of Christ. Read on.
Identifying ‘planted thoughts’
I want to talk about something that God spoke to me about as I was praying for the global church. The Lord spoke to me about something that many people are dealing with, which are ‘planted thoughts’.
Planted thoughts are rooted in the deepest insecurity of man. They are thoughts rooted in pride. They are thoughts that are dishonest. The person carrying them is dishonest in their true emotions because the foundation is instability.
Planted thoughts also manifest when people interpret prophetic words through the lens of assumption. Instead of receiving the Word of the Lord, they reduce it to what they think the messenger is going through, missing what God is actually exposing.
Let me explain what this looks like. Environments create thoughts and perspectives in your mind. Many people are in environments shaped by inherited offence or information. They often do this because, rather than being able to identify what may be dysfunctional and confront what needs to be challenged, they try to protect themselves. They never truly process information well and adopt those beliefs as their own.
A planted thought causes you to look for similarities, not truth. You begin to judge and interpret prematurely, becoming judge and jury over something that has not been clarified. It makes you assume things.
They never arrive at truth. They begin to base and see things through a distorted lens. So when something arises to even begin to challenge it, they defend it without listening or seeing it as an opportunity for transformation.
Those thoughts build defense systems, affecting how they receive truth and how they perceive the reality of the situation.
Every time they hear something that comes against things similar to what has been planted, they assume they are under attack, when that is not the case.
What I like to call ‘planted thoughts’ also manifest when people interpret actions and interactions from others through the lens of assumption. Instead of receiving truth and understanding what is truly going on, they reduce it to what they think the person delivering the message is going through, and it triggers a reactive behavior inside of them that causes them to destroy rather than build the right relationships with people.
They then withdraw from strategic relationships or set misaligned boundaries. This is where pride enters, believing it is personal instead of recognizing this as something being highlighted to them by others and something that needs to be dealt with. It also shows up when real conviction comes, and true conviction always comes to change us for the better. When we hear a word of correction and immediately become defensive or angry, thinking, “this is what they are trying to say about me”, we need to stop and think to ourselves, this may be the very thing that I needed to actually hear to untangle myself from what has held me back.
A planted thought causes you to look for similarities, not truth. I think that we would all agree that truth is objective, not subjective. What is actually happening is not always what we think, feel, and interpret in the moment. You begin to judge and interpret prematurely, becoming judge and jury over something that has not been clarified. This leads to self sabotage, manipulation, and strained visions, destinies, and purposes.
Our viewpoint and lens need to be grounded in what is true. Conversations need to be had. Many people are carrying planted thoughts into relationships that have the potential to grow.
It also manifests in subtle ways, like waking up in the morning with a negative or distorted thought. If you do not check it, it will shape your behavior and lead you into self sabotage. If you have had these thoughts, you need to ask yourself, what are you actually defending?
If you are reading this, do yourself a favor and get your foundations right. Do not mistake correction for attack, or refinement for delay, especially when the opportunity to remove planted thoughts comes through the necessary challenges we face. You must not ignore these moments. Being able to receive the right correction well will change your life.
Many have done incredibly well and reached significant milestones, saving souls, investing, building, but through the ups and downs and pressures of life, structures begin to form around the next level of fruit. This next fruit carries a stronger fragrance and a greater anointing.
Dealing with ‘planted thoughts’
Do not allow yourself to be upheld by someone else’s unresolved insecurity or ambition, which will only cause you to fail. When I originally pondered this and saw this for the global church and body, I wept before the Lord. I asked, “God, what must be done?”
For those of you who are Christians and truly part of the body of Christ, I felt a boldness and courage rise to speak against this. That the Lord will anoint your head with oil. That every thought seeking to blind you from your value will be removed, in Jesus’ mighty name. That no one will lose their vision or sight.
The bruising, the confrontation, and what you go through does not diminish who you are. It produces a greater anointing and oil within you.
For everyone reading this, listen carefully. If you find yourself apologizing for things that are not your fault just to manage someone else’s bad behavior, your mind is being confused. Do not let someone else’s inability to face the truth cause you to lose a part of yourself. Do not let someone else’s inability to face the truth cause you to lose a part of yourself that the Lord is pleased with.
I want to point to an example from the Bible, King Saul. He was the first king of the nation of Israel but because of his own pride and insecurities he was tormented and caused his own downfall and destruction. He had David, the very boy who came to defend his nation and also serve him to soothe this torment, yet in his mind David appeared as an enemy. David was the one truly there wanting to help him, but still Saul thought David was the enemy. Those were planted thoughts. How many leaders today are operating from the same place of unfounded suspicion?
Consider another example, Salome, the daughter of Herodias in the Gospel of Mark 6:14 to 29. She was just a young girl influenced to ask for the head of John the Baptist, literally the beheaded head of a man on a platter. She was in an environment of inherited offence, from her mother who carried a dark grudge. What business did a young girl have making such a despicable request? It was a planted thought. This grudge was not hers, but the thought was planted in her mind by those around her.
What if your potential was being limited by planted thoughts? Do not allow past sorrow to take residence in your narrative. Everyone goes through sorrow. However, sorrow was meant to be a tool, not a partner. You cannot partner with what you have overcome. You must become. Become, and lead.
In life, you are not truly free, regardless of how far you go, until you learn to capture these planted thoughts. When you overcome them, you gain real discernment and the ability to have informed decision making, and an understanding as to what is operating behind and around others.
If you are reading this, do not remain silent. Speak, even in the face of backlash. The Lord will have His way. There are people like King Ahab, go and read 1 Kings chapters 16 to 22, who are hiding and covering themselves, operating with planted thoughts. But as much as it seems at first they are unaffected by it, they will neither escape nor get away with it.
In 1 Kings 22, we see that the prophet Micaiah prophesied against him that he would lose a key battle. In his fear, Ahab sought to manipulate the outcome of the battle by making King Jehoshaphat visible while he disguised himself.
Though he instructed King Jehoshaphat to wear his kingly robe, behind the scenes he was positioning Jehoshaphat as a target. But God sees all, and He did indeed see everything behind these false pretenses, and Ahab’s plan failed. He was struck by an arrow and killed in battle.
Despite Ahab’s 400 prophets falsely pretending they heard from God and insisting he go to war, King Jehoshaphat discerned that something was not right and insisted on hearing from a true prophet of God. He sought after truth and true information. Ahab despised Micaiah and had him imprisoned because he did not like the word he brought. He preferred the voices of false prophets with deceiving spirits who told him only what he wanted to hear. He rejected the truth because it disrupted the false structure he had built around himself. But Jehoshaphat was determined to hear it from someone who would not just say things to please him, but tell him the Word of the Lord, the truth.
Like Jehoshaphat was adamant about hearing the Word of the Lord, you must want the anointing and the vision more than the comfort of what is dysfunctional. For those who are non Christians, I invite you to know that living by assumptions will not get you anywhere. Being able to make our decisions based on truth is what will build things that will last.
The enemy is working diligently to silence the true voices of God. But as I prayed, I heard the Spirit of the Lord say, “It is a season of vindication.”
So you need to be true to your calling, not rude, but true. Be faithful to what God has instructed you to say. If you are serving Him, look to Him. The enemy’s intention is to silence and mute true voices.
Some key symptoms of a person operating in planted thoughts, they often keep people divided in order to maintain control because they know that true reconciliation would expose their insignificance. When truth aligns people rightly, false power collapses. True reconciliation removes assumed power. It brings value to a group of people.
Going back to my example of King Ahab, he failed in his attempt to manipulate and misdirect others for his own protection, and his assumed power was exposed as insignificant. His scheming came to nothing and did not prevail. Be very careful and discerning. Planted thoughts can compel you to raise a pattern of thoughts and actions against the innocent that the Bible would describe as an altar that you serve at. But justice will be served.
I feel this fire so strongly to release the voices that have been muted by people’s sin, fear, and concealment, and the many who are still covering themselves with fig leaves. But fig leaves do not heal.
Let me expand on this. Adam was called to tend the garden, but when exposed by God, he chose covering instead of confrontation for transformation. We often think what we are doing will validate us, while God is trying to remove what is in us that hinders us.
God is the one who can truly help us remove the things that we need to remove. We try all sorts of things to do this ourselves, and yes, to an extent we can mask our dysfunctions with different degrees of success, but are we really dealing with the root? When we Christians say that God is love, it is more than just for a nice pleasant experience. It is actually for our transformation. Real love will change someone. Real love will deal with dysfunction and deliver people to step into change that brings life giving hope. In this time, the Lord is removing what cannot sustain what He is doing. I see and I feel revival.
Adored,
Reverend Betty King
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Rev. Betty King, Christian Leader, Pastor, and Visionary
Rev. Betty King is leader, as a pastor of Truthvine Church, Visionary of Betty King International Ministries (BKIM) & a real-estate moguel whose influence spans continents, sectors, and generations. She has served in leadership across global ministries worldwide and currently hosts a prime-time weekly television programme, The Cry, which airs every Wednesday on GODTV, the UK’s largest Christian television network. Her wider ministry, is deeply committed to practical and sustainable impact including the building of a football academy for vulnerable young men focused on restoration, healing, rehabilitation, and helping individuals rebuild their lives as well as working with churches and other sectors across the world.
