The Ophrah Effect -- Breaking Free of Fear & Family Influences

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (New King James Version)

The Ophrah Effect!

How You See Yourself!

Now I am going to share some real-life factors that will limit you if you let them. I call it the Ophrah effect. First of all, the spelling "Ophrah" is intentional. I am not speaking of the popular TV host Oprah Gail Winfrey, but of the hometown of a man named Gideon. Actually, Oprah has said that her name was a result of a misspelling of the biblical word. Anyhow, The Ophrah effect, as I am calling it is based in this question; "How Do You See Yourself?" Do you see yourself from merely a human point of view or from God's viewpoint? It is all about biblical self-esteem. The Ophrah Effect occurs when you are hiding from your potential due to the limiting factor of family influence. Gideon was hiding in a winepress from his enemies. What are you hiding from today? Why? Could it be a "self-image" issue? Very few people really understand self-esteem psychology. Self-esteem is actually a Divine concept. Let's check out Gideon.

In Judges 6: 11-16 from the Message Bible it reads; One day the angel of God came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, whose son Gideon was threshing wheat in the winepress, out of sight of the Midianites. The angel of God appeared to him and said, "God is with you, O mighty warrior!" Gideon replied, "With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about, telling us, 'Didn't God deliver us from Egypt?' The fact is, God has nothing to do with us-he has turned us over to Midian." But God faced him directly: "Go in this strength that is yours. Save Israel from Midian. Haven't I just sent you?" Gideon said to him, "Me, my master? How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan's the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the runt of the litter." God said to him, "I'll be with you. Believe me, you'll defeat Midian as one man."

Notice that God was encouraging Gideon to believe in himself the way God believed in him. God made

5 self-esteem building statements to Gideon. He said to Gideon:

1)   You are a mighty warrior

2)   Go in this strength that is yours

3)   Save Israel from Midian

4)   I'll be with you

5)   Believe me, you'll defeat Midian as one man

The Ophrah effect is the result of the negative influence that our family often has on how we see ourselves.

Notice when God told Gideon what to do, the first thing he started talking about was his family background.

Gideon said; "How and with what could I ever save Israel? Look at me. My clan's the weakest in Manasseh and I'm the runt of the litter." The King James Bible simply says; my family is poor.

And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. Judges 6: 15 (KJV)

The word poor in the Hebrew language means, poor, weak, thin, needy, and dangling. Gideon had to get godly self-esteem to break free from the limiting factor of his family's influence. How about you? It takes guts to break through these family limitations. It takes guts to leave the ruts! It is very important that you develop "possibility thinking" and guard your belief systems that were created by your family upbringing.

Fear often comes in the simple suggestion or question from a close relative or family member. Beware of subtle "fear" suggestions made by well-meaning people in your family. They say things like; with your credit you will never have a car; nobody in our family has ever had anything; our family tree is filled with nuts; no one in our family will ever be rich or famous. These are often "nice" people but they will fill you with fear.

Also, beware of the haters - even in your family! There are two types of people in this world; haters and motivators. Haters will hate and motivators will motivate.

Here are some Ophrah effect factors that can cause fear if you let them:

·      Lack of proper education

·      Lack of money

·      Poor background

·      Poor self-image

·      Bad credit rating

·      Small town upbringing

All things are possible if you will deal with fear and believe God (Mk 9: 23).

You can stop the struggle in mediocrity and break free by overcoming fear. You must break through the limitations of fear to achieve your goals. Your greatest obstacle to success is not your lack of proper education, lack of money, poor family backgroundlow self-image or bad credit rating. The greatest obstacle is the fear that you have allowed these to produce in your life. Many of us are like the Bible character Gideon.

Gideon's greatest obstacle was the fear of failure due to past history. The fear of failure is the single greatest obstacle to success in adult life. Taken to its extreme, we become totally pre-occupied with not making a mistake and with seeking approval from family members.

The experience of the fear of failure is closely related to the fear of rejection. We learn this when our parents make their love for us as small kids conditional upon our behavior. If we do what pleases them, they give us love and approval. If we do something they don't like, they withdraw their love and approval-which we interpret as rejection. More than 99 percent of adults experience both these fears of failure and rejection. They are caught in the trap of feeling, "I can't, but "I have to," "I have to," but "I can't."

The Key to Breaking Free!
The antidote to these fears is the development of courage, character and Divine self-esteem. You must start to see yourself the way God sees you. You must believe in yourself the way God believes in you. The opposite of fear is actually faith, which manifests in love and self-respect.

First, realize Jesus said all things are possible with you, so accept that you can do anything you put your mind to. Repeat the words, "I can do it! I can do it!" whenever you feel afraid for any reason.

Second, continually think of yourself as a valuable and important person and remember that temporary failure is the way you learn how to succeed.

Quote of the day:

"High achievers spot rich opportunities swiftly, make big decisions quickly and move into action immediately. Follow these principles and you can make your dreams come true."

--Robert H. Schuller--

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