I wish I were that gal who regularly rose before the roosters to spend hours in Scripture and prayer. And when I wrestle with the fact that I don’t seem to be her, I vacillate between making weak excuses for why I don’t just get my poop in a group and feeling shame for not being more disciplined to just do it. 

Neither one feeds my soul.

But as is so often the case, God is faithful despite me.

In some of my most difficult days, God was kind to speak terse truths to my heart that I was actually able to digest. These affirmations, whose truths are rooted in Scripture, replaced the naughty lies of the enemy that had become wedged in my deep places as a result of some of life’s hurts.

When the broken pieces of my childhood began to surface, the voice that lies hissed, “You’re not worth loving.” And through the cloud of my depression, God spoke simply, “I am for you.”

When I discovered my birth father, and realized he was not interested in knowing me, the devil accused, “You’re not worth knowing.” And echoing the message to his enslaved people in Egypt, God assured me, “I see you. I hear you. I know you. I love you.”

When my husband left our 18-year marriage, the one who lies barked, “You are worthless garbage to be discarded.” And yet God’s gentle voice reminded me, “You are worth sticking around for. You are mine.”

Because we live in a noisy world, each of us needs to choose, daily, what is most true about us, about others, and about God.

It’s been 16 years since God spoke those first four words to me, “I am for you.” As I’ve clung to them—printing them on cards, t-shirts, banners, and stickers—they have become my solid ground.  As other true words have come, I’ve recorded them, too: “I am enough,” “God’s heart toward me is kind,” “I release what I cannot change,” and others.

Sure, the enemy still tries to bully me into believing lies—especially when I’m vulnerable or under-resourced. But I now have an arsenal of truth that has sprung from Scripture, nurturing and protecting me.

Truth has set me free by amplifying God’s constant whisper, “I am the one who is with you and for you.” 

This is the voice to listen to. 

This is the face to trust. 

Below are 31 of the affirmations, one for each day of the month, that help me to remain grounded in what is most true about me, about others, and about God. My prayer is that they will also help you stay rooted in God’s truth.

1. God is not preoccupied.
2. I release what I cannot change. 
3. Because I bear the divine image, I am irrefutably worthy.
4. I can accept reality as it is and not be undone.
5. God is faithful to listen.
6. I choose to trust the words of Jesus.
7. God’s heart toward me is kind.
8. I speak only what is true of myself and others.
9. I don’t forget my past, but I’m no longer bound by it.
10. My work is to choose truth.
11. Nothing can separate me from the love of God.
12. I am expectant for what I can’t yet see.
13. When I am undone, I am not alone.
14. I trust the voice that says, “I am with you and for you.”
15. I treat myself with the loving-kindness I extend to others.
16. The faithful companion sees me and hears me.
17. My feelings are real, but they are not reality.
18. I choose to abide in God, my truest home.
19. I receive God’s care through those who love me.
20. Nothing can change my inherent belovedness.
21. When others fail to care for me, I graciously release them.
22. God is the loving parent I have always needed.
23. I reject the voice that tells me I am not enough.
24. God is healing my broken heart.
25. Jesus is with me on the journey.
26. I outwit the enemy when I choose to forgive.
27. Tempted by what does not satisfy, I turn to Jesus.
28. By accepting my own belovedness, I can best love others.
29. Through Scripture, I can know God.
30. I accept others as they are and not as they should be.
31. I choose to practice gratitude by giving thanks today.

Margot Starbuck is the author of a bunch of books, most recently The Solid Place: 365 Affirmations for Thriving Emotionally and Spiritually. Learn more at www.MargotStarbuck.com