observe don't accept

image source: freeimages.com/Gerla Brakkee

Too many of us are quick to accept a thing without thinking it through, without really asking, ‘is this true?’ My husband made a comment today about hearing that toasted muesli is not as healthy for you as untoasted muesli (which I think is true, incidentally), but when I asked him why it was healthier, he couldn’t tell me. He said, 'it has something to do with the fats'. Then he joked, 'but it was from a reliable source', to which I replied, 'yeah, if it was on the internet it must be true.'

We are a generation who are inundated with messages on a daily basis. Within a mouse click we are invited to learn and there is an abundance of evidence both for and against almost any topic we could imagine. We need to be aware that just because we hear a message (even on a grand scale) it does not make that message true.

For a long time, I believed that my thoughts were accurate measures of reality. If the thought was in my head, I would assume it was true. When I would think something like, ‘you know such-and-such could happen’, I would go into agreement with that thought, without even questioning it. The result? I would react emotionally, getting upset and convinced that that thing would come to pass. Most people seem to have a good grip on getting bossy with their thoughts but some of us struggle. I didn't challenge my thoughts, if I saw any grain of truth or possibility in them, I accepted them and with them, the negative emotions of fear, worry and doubt.

God is showing me that we do not need to receive the messages that come into our minds, via our thoughts. It might sound obvious and it's certainly not a new notion, but I don’t think we realise just how much real estate we give on a daily basis to thoughts that are just plain wrong. When we feed these unchallenged thoughts, they grow.

The enemy is a bully and he seeks to expand his territory in our minds. He does it through intimidation, persistence and often reasonings or imaginations (which feel real). In my last post, I spoke of the reality that the enemy has no real power over us, but when we accept his thoughts without challenging them, we allow his fearful lies to bed down and become part of us. He doesn’t have any power without our permission, but if we take his words and allow them to be truth for us, then we will live out of fear, or pride, or anger or whatever else he is trying to put on us. Then our actions reap fruit. In that way, he gains real estate and can gain it vastly.

Just think, if David had not challenged Goliath, but instead accepted his threats as truth (let's face it, the odds were definitely in Goliath's favour), then the whole territory of the Philistines would have continued to be inhabited by the enemy. The children of God would not have possessed what was rightly theirs.

No matter what territory the enemy has taken in our lives through his intimidation tactics, his imaginings or his persistent attack on the mind, we do not need to fear. God has given us the tools to take back what the enemy has stolen in regards to our peace, our health and our state of minds.

Slow Down

We need to observe the messages we are being told. Slow down and ask, is this true?
Hold it up to the mirror of God's word and if it doesn't match, ditch it! It doesn't matter if it feels true, looks true, smells true or sends your knees knocking together. (In fact the very reason it terrifies you is because it is un-truth or half-truth. Truth is a Person and He sets you free). This is the power we have. The power to separate ourselves from the thought. To observe it. And then to choose: accept or reject?

It will take courage. It will often mean defying reason, imaginations, experiences and the pull of our emotions, but these have never been measures of truth, so don't be fooled. Learn by those men and women of old who stood on the Word of God. Who took it literally and bravely, forsaking all else. God never forsakes those who rely on Him and the more we practice it, the stronger we will grow.

Truth is ours. Peace is ours.

Let's walk in it.

‘With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, 
for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness… 

But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.  
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 
throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, 
which is corrupted by lust and deception. 

Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 

Put on your new nature, created to be like God—
truly righteous and holy.’

Ephesians 4:17, 20-24

This is the third installment on a series of fear that I will be doing on this blog. Check back in the coming days for more on fear and how to take back control of a worried, fretting mind.

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