Karen Papin: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Divine Worth Podcast, where we are letting go of our self-doubt, anxiety, fear, limiting beliefs, so that we can step into the divine roles that God has for us. I am your host life coach, Karen Papin, and together we are embracing our divine worth and potential.
Welcome to the Divine worth Podcast. This week is a solo episode, and I’m sharing with you something that really has kind of been on my mind ever since episode 20 when I had Mikayla Esplin on and she talked about how she has this limiting belief about God, where God bless others and not her.
And, that really resonated with me. Sometimes I. I struggle with that limiting belief myself, and I’ve realized that sometimes we really do have these limiting beliefs about God, and so we’re gonna tackle some of those limiting beliefs today.
So I wanna invite you to take a minute to imagine looking out the window. However, this window, it has streaks and smudges and maybe even has fingerprints all over it and we start focusing in on all of those little things versus on what’s actually on the other side [00:01:00] of the window, which is this beautiful sunrise.
Sometimes God’s love is like that, where it is, there it is beautiful and wonderful, and yet we have these smudges and these other things that we start focusing in on versus actually taking the time to allow ourselves to see and focus in on the love. So it’s always there. It’s just we are covering it right
now. Why is it important that we. Tackle some of these limiting beliefs. Well, one thing is it’s distancing us from our Heavenly Father. It’s keeping us from being able to recognize who he truly is. It’s keeping us from truly knowing him, and it also diminishes our light [00:02:00] and our ability to be able to let the Lord’s light shine through us because we’re not putting our faith and trust in the Lord when we have these limiting beliefs. We are actually holding ourselves back from being able to take the steps of faith forward to really embrace what God has in store for us. So let’s tackle some of these beliefs.
The first one is one that I struggle with a lot and have struggled with throughout my life, and. One that I know that many of you are struggling with as well, and it’s this idea that God’s love must be earned. That if you are, that you are only worth something to him if you are achieving, this idea that God only loves me when I am doing everything right or God’s love is conditional on my obedience. [00:03:00] But the truth is that your Heavenly Father loves you right here, right now. Even with the mistakes that you have made, he still loves you. That love is still there. So let’s go ahead and dive into some scriptures that show this in two Nephi chapter 26, verse 24, it says, he doeth not anything, save it, be for the benefit of the world.
For he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life, that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore he commanded none, that they shall not partake of his salvation. Right there. We are being told that the Lord gave his own life for us because of the love that he has for us
in Romans chapter five, verses eight and nine. It says, but God commendeth his [00:04:00] love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us right there. It makes it clearer that even though we are sinners, even though we are imperfect, Christ died for us because of this great love.
In Romans chapter eight, verses 38 and 39. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, nothing is capable of separating us from his love.
As I said with that window analogy, sometimes we ourselves are focused so [00:05:00] much on other things that we fail to actually see is love for us in our lives. I actually have a free gratitude course that focuses on recognizing God’s love, and I’ll go ahead and put the link in the show notes, or you can go to
karen papin.com/gratitude course, and you can go ahead and check that out there. and that helps you to start to open your eyes to be able to see that God’s love is truly all around you in the different experiences that you go through in the different, interactions that you have with others.
And even just Alma says, all things denote that there is a God and, and it’s true.
God’s love is all around us. Sometimes we just need to open our eyes to see
Another limiting belief that really goes along with this one as well [00:06:00] is that if my life is hard, that means that God is displeased with me.
That means that God isn’t happy with me, that means I am doing something wrong. However, the truth is that hard times don’t mean that God is not with you. it doesn’t mean that you have done something wrong or that you’re being punished in some way.
here are a few examples from the scriptures that really demonstrate this. The first is with Abinadi in the Book of Mormon.
He was a prophet who was imprisoned because he was telling the people that they needed to repent. And the king wasn’t happy about that, and so he captured Abinadi and questioned Abinadi
and wanted to put him to death. And this is what [00:07:00] Abinadi said unto him. I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people for they are true and that they, that you may know of their surety. I have suffered myself that I have fallen into your hands. Yay. And I will suffer even until death.
And I will not recall my words, and they shall stand as a testimony against you. And if you slay me, you’ll shed innocent blood. And this day also shall stand as a testimony against you at the last day. And the king did go and kill him here. Abinadi was put into a situation because of his faith. He was someone who was gracious and he was following what the Lord asked him to do, and he allowed himself to be [00:08:00] captured and to become a martyr because there was a greater purpose for what he was doing.
Just because we are faithful does not mean we are gonna be held back from the difficult things that we go through in hard life. Another example that happens is actually, the one person that listened to Abinadi, one of the King’s priest, whose name was Alma, he listened and he had to run for his life when he stood up for Abinadi and the king got angry at Alma and.
In secret, Alma began teaching the people and was able to bring many of the people to the knowledge of the savior. And King Noah found out, and the Lord protected Alma and his people from this king, and they traveled into the wilderness
and left King Noah and his people behind. And they [00:09:00] went and they found this beautiful place to settle down and they began to create a home there and to flourish and to prosper. And they were being blessed in temporarily and spiritual ways. And then what happens? Well, the Lamanites found them and they were brought into bondage and, and I think of them a lot when it comes to this idea that, oh, , I shouldn’t have to go through this. Did I make some wrong choice? Why is it that I have to experience this? Anytime I start to feel that way, I am reminded of Alma here, in Mosiah chapter 24 and his people,
and this is what happens. Their persecution was pretty great. And it says in Mosiah chapter 24, verse 10, and it came to pass that [00:10:00] so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God. An Amulon commanded them that they should stop their cries and he put guards over them to watch them.
That whosoever should be found, calling upon God should be put to death. And so this is a really, like, they were told that. Don’t even pray or we will kill you. And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him, and he did know the thoughts of their hearts, and it came to pass.
The voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions saying, lift up your heads and be of good comfort for a know of the covenant, which you have made unto me. And I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. Okay? So here’s the Lord, is there with them in this [00:11:00] burden that they’re going through and he’s saying, I will comfort you and I will deliver you.
But he doesn’t deliver them right away. In fact, he goes on to say, and I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders that even you cannot feel them upon your backs even while you are in bondage. And this will I do that you may stand as witness for me hereafter and that you may know of asurity that I the Lord God, to visit my people.
In their afflictions and what happens while Alma and his brethren, those burdens were made light for them and the Lord did strengthen them, that they could bear up those burdens with ease and they, and it says they did, sumit cheerfully, and with patience to all the will of the Lord. And the Lord did end up delivering them out of bondage.
[00:12:00] But in the meantime, they were still going through some really hard things. They weren’t even able to openly practice what it was that they believed.
So yes, sometimes
these experiences that are really difficult in life.
Just that they’re hard and they’re difficult. Yet at the same time that when we turn to the Lord, he can ease our burdens and show us that he is there comforting us and strengthening us and helping us to learn and to grow throughout the entire process. ’cause sometimes those experiences that we go through, there is a purpose for them and we can, and we are
able to learn and grow from them in ways that we would not be able to learn in any other way.
All right, so the next limiting belief is the one that kind of got me thinking about all of this in the first place that Michaela Esplin [00:13:00] shared, and it is that God blesses others, but not me.
In what ways have you seen this limiting belief in your own life? And really, that’s a good question to ask for all of these limiting beliefs is like, okay, where have I seen this in my own life? So let me share with you a few scriptures to. Go along with that. there’s Isaiah chapter 49, verse 15 through 16, which says, can a woman forget her seconding child that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yay. They may forget yet. Will I not forget thee? Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before me. So sometimes we get into this idea that. The atonement is for others, but not for us. Or God blesses others, but not us. And right here, when we remember scriptures such as this in Isaiah [00:14:00] 49, it’s like the Lord is telling us, I have engrave in you upon the palms of my hands.
I will not forget you. Right. This is, you are on my mind. You are here and on my mind in Romans chapter two, verse 11, it says, for there is no respect of persons with God, okay? , if God is blessing someone else, then he can also bless you. Sometimes it’s a matter of opening up your eyes to be able to see start training your brain to be able to look for those little ways that Heavenly Father is showing you. Hey, I am blessing you.
Gratitude’s a great way to be able to do that. In third Nephi chapter 11, verse 15, I love this experience of Christ coming to visit the people in the Americas. And one of the [00:15:00] reasons why I like it is, is because of. Well, let me read the verse and then I’ll tell you why. It says, and it came to pass, that the multitude went forth and thrust their hounds into a side and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet.
And this, they did too. Going forth one by one until they had all gone forth and did see with their eyes ended, feel with their hands, and did know of assurity, and did bear record that it was he of whom it was written by the prophets. That should come one thing. That I really love about the scripture that applies to what we’re talking about here, is that they all went forth one by one.
They each individually had this opportunity to feel the prints of the nail in the savior’s hands and to be there with [00:16:00] him. The atonement is for. Each and every one of us individually as well as a whole. It is not about blessing one person over over another,
it is there for you.
I wanna encourage you to right here, right now, just pause and repeat that to yourself god wants to bless me, and he is blessing me, and his atonement is meant for me personally.
Allow that to just sink in, ponder it, and remind yourself. That he’s aware of you. He sees you. He knows you. He understands you. He knows what is best for [00:17:00] you, and he is blessing you in all the ways that you need to be blessed in this moment.
Next limiting belief that we might have. About our Heavenly Father is that he is too big to care about the small things. So this is one that I think of, like sometimes I’m like, oh, this is probably just like a stupid thing to pray about. Or sometimes I think, oh, if I pray for this small thing, then I’m not gonna receive a bigger blessing that I’d rather have.
And with as if. With God. It’s an either or a thing and it’s not, it’s like that is a, a lack mindset. And really heavenly father wants to bless us abundantly. Like throughout the scriptures
it talks about him wanting to bless us with abundance [00:18:00] and hope and with love. He, he wants to answer our prayer. He wants us to come and turn to him so that. We are ready to receive the things that he wants to bless us with so if you are like me and you think, oh, that, you know, I don’t wanna pray for this small little thing because something else bigger, might something else that I want even more, might not be given to me.
Or. If you’re just like, oh, it’s such a small thing, it’s like, yeah, okay. Like I lose my keys. And it’s like, I need to find my keys. ’cause I needed to get my kids to school and I’m stressing about it. But it seems like such a small thing in comparison to everything else. one thing that helps me is actually remembering my kids’ own prayers.
Like how many times have they prayed to find a [00:19:00] lost stuffy? Or a lost little toy or something that seems small and insignificant in some ways to me, and yet it matters to them and it becomes important to me because it matters to them, and heavenly father knows that, and it matters to him because it matters to this child.
Nothing is too small for the Lord and nothing is too big. And yet sometimes we put limits on him in both ways, where we think, oh, this is too small. I can’t turn to him about them ’cause it’s so inconsequential in the grand, grand scope of everything. Well, he’s there. He understands. He still wants to bless us with it.
On the big side, we think, oh, I can’t do that. Like how heavenly father wants me to do what? That seems like just [00:20:00] so incomprehensible to me. And yet, heavenly Father has a bigger plan. He knows even better than you what you can and cannot do, and he can help you. We know that with God, nothing is impossible.
So why are we putting that limit on him?
And it’s really a limit that we’re putting on ourselves too, right? So with God, he cares. He cares about those small things, he cares about those big things as well. In Alma chapter 37 verses six through seven, it says, now you may suppose that this is foolishness in me, but behold I say unto you that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass, and small means in many instances, doth confound the wise and the Lord God. doth work by means to bring about this great and eternal purposes.
And by very small means, the [00:21:00] Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls. That scripture right there is applicable in so many ways, but in particular in this way, it shows that he does care about those small things ’cause he knows that they’re actually more important than we sometimes realize.
In Matthew chapter 10, verses 29 and 30, it says, are not too sparrow sold for farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your father, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not. Therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. It’s like. Right there. That tells me God really is in the details and he does notice and understand you,
and he knows that you are of infinite worth.
Okay, the next limiting [00:22:00] belief.
This is such a good one. The next one is that I can’t be honest or weak with God. Now this is one that we. We will be doing not consciously, right? Like really, it’s like, of course I can be honest with God. However we start to, when we do make a mistake, it’s like, oh, we start to shame ourselves and then we start to want to hide.
And we do, we hide from God too, even though he knows our everything. So there’s that. But other thoughts? Go along with this, such as if I doubt or struggle in my faith, God’s gonna be disappointed with me, or I have to figure things out on my own before I can ask God for help. Okay? And really, that’s [00:23:00] not what God is telling us to do.
But the truth is that God invites you to come to him as you are before you have everything figured out. When you are feeling weak. Because it is through him that our weaknesses become strong. I love the example of Moroni in Ether chapter 12 in relation to this. He says, and thou has made us that we could write, but little because of the awkwardness of our hands, behold thou has not made us mighty.
And writing like unto the brother of Jared for thou made us him. That the things which he wrote were mighty. Even as thou art unto the overpowering of man to read them, thou has also made our words. Powerful and great even that we cannot write them. Wherefore, when we write, we behold our weakness and stumble because [00:24:00] of the placing of our words, and I fear less the gentile shall mock at our words.
Okay, so here Moroni is really self-conscious about the words that he’s writing down. And I love what the Lord says in response. And when I had said this, the Lord spank unto me saying, fools mock, but they shall mourn. And my grace is sufficient for the meek that they shall take no advantage of your weakness.
And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble. And my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me. Four. If they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become stronger unto them?
Now, I love that scripture for so many reasons, but I think it’s even more powerful when you consider the. Leading [00:25:00] up to it. Moroni struggling to write and he was like, we’d stumble over the placing of our words and this and that. And then when you think about the other words that Moroni has written, such as in Moroni chapter 10 verses four and five, where it talks about for praying to know the truth of the Book of Mormon.
And how often that is quoted and how powerful it is. As you read those words,
the Lord made his weakness become a strength and he makes our weaknesses become strengths. But here’s another thing about verse 27 that’s pretty amazing. It is that he gives unto men weakness that they may be humble.
That those weaknesses turn us to the Lord
and my grace is sufficient, [00:26:00] that they may be humble, and if they humble themselves before me and have faith in me, then will I make the weak things become strong. Those those weaknesses, if we allow ourselves to be humble, if we turn to the Lord, rather than holding onto this limiting belief that I have to figure things out on my own before going to the Lord.
Then we’re kind of missing the point of having those weaknesses, those weaknesses turn us to him. Allow those weaknesses to turn you to him. He wants to hear from you right there in your struggle so that he can make that weakness a strength for you. If you’re struggling with the thought of, if I doubt or I’m struggling in my faith, if I have questions about the gospel, whatever it is, [00:27:00] if I about the gospel, God will be disappointed in me.
Okay. That is another limiting belief, and here’s a scripture that goes along with that, and it’s in Mark chapter nine.
Where this father has a child that he wants healed, and Jesus says unto him in verse 23, if thou can’t believe all things are possible to him that believe it. And straight away the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. So even though the father’s like, he’s like telling the Lord, I, I want to believe, like this is what I believe.
And really what it is he’s desiring that belief. He’s wanting to believe and then he turns to the Lord and he says, help me in my unbelief. [00:28:00] And from there, the Lord does help him. And he heals his son.
He wants us to turn to him in those moments of doubt, in those moments of struggle, in those moments of weakness,
so that he can help us in our unbelief.
This next limiting belief is one that, is really about, it is about God, but we disguise it as being about us because it is about us too, and that is, I can’t do that. I do not have the talents or the skills or the gifts or the faith to do that. And this may be maybe it is accepting a calling from the Lord or following a prompting [00:29:00] or,
Even just we have this desire to do something and we start to think of all the ways, reasons why we can’t do it, and in those moments we are not focus on the Lord and the fact that if we put our faith and trust in him, and it is something that is good and is right. We can do it. Like we can overcome all of those obstacles.
We can figure things out because the Lord is there and he is guiding us, and he is leading us. And yet in these moments, we are limiting ourselves because we are not tapping into the potential that we can have as we tap into God’s power.
So instead of accepting [00:30:00] that you aren’t good enough, or that you are not capable, or you don’t know how, or you accept that you don’t know how, and instead of trying to figure it out, you just give up. Put your faith and trust in the Lord. Stop leaning onto your own understanding and put your faith in him
‘ cause he will direct your path. Okay. The next limiting belief, God expects too much from me. I don’t think it’s so much that God is expecting too much from you, so much that you are expecting too much from yourself. God understands us better than we understand ourselves and he is patient.
And so as we are doing our best, and sometimes our best is literally just. Putting one foot in front of another, and doing the minimum that we can do that day. [00:31:00] Sometimes that is our best. And other times it’s like a perfect day, right, where we’re hitting all the boxes, we’re checking ’em all off, and we have all this energy and we’re full of hope and joy, and it’s a great day.
Sometimes that is our best, but not always, but a lot of times we compare what our best is at right now with that best on those really good days.
But that’s not always our best
on those days that we feel like we’re not doing our best. We’re still putting forth that effort, or maybe, man, maybe we just need to take that time to just cry and to just feel our emotions and to just lay there because that’s all we can do. In those moments god also sees us and he also knows us, and he is there to strengthen [00:32:00] us.
I remember one time.
After my son was born, just feeling entirely overwhelmed and exhausted, and my son was sick and I was sick, and I just wanted help. I wanted someone to just come watch him so that I could get some rest and get some sleep, and, yet at the same time, not willing to ask anyone for help because we were sick.
I didn’t wanna get anyone sick. So I remember just praying for help and later on in the day, as I was thinking back on that day
and just thinking. I made it through the day. I made it through the day. I wasn’t very productive. I don’t know if I checked off anything off of my to-do list other than making sure my little boy was okay. Right? And so it was [00:33:00] not what I would consider a best day, but I did my best.
And as I was praying and just saying thank you for helping me to make it through the day,
the Lord said to me, I knew you could do it.
Some days are like that.
In Mosiah chapter four, verse 27 and see that all these things are done in wisdom and order for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that there might he, thereby he might win the prize. Now, this scripture here reminds us that it’s like.
We will fall short. Like there are times when we will fall short, right? Where we are not able to run faster than we have strength, where we do not have much strength to give. [00:34:00] He does still counsel us to be diligent and to me that is you still when you have that strength and energy. You do it when you don’t.
That’s, one of those moments where it’s like, if I had, I would give it. Okay. And that’s also in Mosiah chapter four, where, king Benjamin’s talking and he says. And again, I say unto the poor ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that you remain from day to day. I mean, all you who do, who deny the beggar because you have not, I would that you say in your hearts that I give not because I have not, but if I had, I would give on those really hard days where it’s hard to even get out of bed.
We can say I give not because I have not, I. If I had, I would [00:35:00] give
trust in the Lord with all thine heart lean. Not until thy know an understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him and he shall directly for good. Proverbs three, five and six. I trust in him. He loves you. He knows you. He understands you. He has a greater vision of everything going on,
and he loves you. He has provided a savior for you, a way for you to be able to overcome,
to put your faith interest in him, because with him, nothing is impossible.
God is not limited by our doubt or our fear or our past mistakes. He is a personal loving father who meets us where we are.
With all of these [00:36:00] limiting beliefs that we have, they’re really limiting beliefs on ourselves and if we allow ourselves to let them go, and really, I. Trust in the Lord with all our hearts and stop leaning on our own understanding, but just seek for his truth, his guidance, his will, his peace, and his comfort and his strength.
He gives it, if we ask for it, he gives it to us.
Open your eyes to see him interest in him, and I’ll see you next time as we talk more about divine worth, about your divine worth and [00:37:00] potential.
If you have found this podcast to be a light, please share it with others and our leave a review, which helps others find the podcast as well. To learn more about your divine worth and potential, you can download some free scripture cards. Focus on your [email protected] forward slash scripture cards.
Karen Papin:
To learn more about your divine worth and potential, you can download some free scripture cards focused on your worth at https://karenpapin.com/scripturecards. You are of worth. You have a purpose. The Lord loves you and he believes in you and only you can make the impact on this world that you are meant to make.
Join me next time as we talk more about divine worth and potential.
Does what God is prompting you to do feel daunting? With your own personalized fear to faith meditation you can create new thought patterns to move you from fear to faith in God’s plan for you.
Learn more about what God sees in you with these scriptures that show you your divine worth and potential.
This free 7 day gratitude course is to guide you to have the eyes to see God’s love for you and those around you.
Quotes from this episode
