Negative Self-talk or God's Voice?

Do you ever think to yourself, "I can't do this! I'm not good enough! I'm not smart enough! I am worthless!" Often, these sorts of thoughts fill my mind when I'm in bed and can't sleep or while I'm driving in my car or sitting at the computer.

Negative self-talk can bring us down and fill our minds with doubts and fears. How easy it is to surrender to these thoughts and lose heart thinking that we are destined to fail and that our lives lack meaning and purpose.

But wait! Another voice tells us this is wrong! We do have purpose! We aren't in this struggle alone. We read in Philippians 2:13, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose."

God is walking with us. Yes, we can and do have free will to make choices, but we can either listen to our own negative self-talk or abide in Christ and listen to His voice.

God can use us even when we are weak, for He is strong despite our weakness. God tells us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 9, NIV). When we place our trust in God and rely on Him, He gives us strength to do what may seem impossible. " I can do all things through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13, ESV).

Prayer:
Help me, O Lord, to listen to Your voice and not to my negative self-talk. When I walk with You, I am strong. Your grace is sufficient for me. Thank you, that I can rely on Your voice and Your strength to guide me. In Jesus' Name. Amen

Seek His Face

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I remain confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27)

Our world can be such a scary place. The news informs us of terrorist plots, war, oppression, disease.... It becomes evident that our conflict on earth is not merely against people but rather against a concealed evil: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)

David - so long ago - also struggled against the darkness that surrounded him. In Psalm 27, David, so strong in faith, became paranoid and fearful in the face of his enemies. Perhaps David wrote this journal when King Saul had turned against him and sent  3000 men in pursuit to kill him.

We may not deal with such life or death issues, but each of us experiences conflict that can fill us with worry and negativity. At times, it appears that we are in battle fighting one struggle after the next. How do we deal with this? What do we do with negative emotions that color our perspective and fill us with fear? Paul wrote to the Corinthians: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). It is not easy for me to take captive every thought. In fact, when I'm upset, I tend to fixate on a situation until it so captivates my brain that I can think of nothing else. David understood that his confidence came from the Lord: Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.  Later in the same psalm, David seeks, what? shelter? an army's protection? No... he seeks God!: Hear my voice when I call Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.

When a cloud of conflict or fear darkens your perspective, I ask you to read this psalm. Take your thoughts captive and seek His face!

Dear Father. You are my stronghold, my light and my salvation! Whom shall I fear! I want, O God, to spend time in your presence. Take captive my thoughts that keep me from being close to You. You give me confidence and bring light to my life. Help me to be strong, take heart and wait on You. In Christ's Name! Amen.

Wait on the Lord

Wait 

To arrive at his high school, my son must drive a route that passes over train tracks. We often wait impatiently while trains inch forward and backward to change tracks at this frequently crossed intersection. One morning last week, Gabe's impatience got the best of him. He began turning around in an effort to get to school by a different route. However, the shoulder gave way under his tires, and the car careened into a ditch. Luckily, Gabe is safe, but the car is in sad condition.

We wait for trains, for healing and for direction; we frustratedly hold the phone waiting to speak with customer service representatives or change grocery story lines to get more quickly out of the store. We tap our fingers and chew our nails in our impatience. Sometimes waiting results in angry outbursts.

Scripture often reminds us to "wait on the Lord." Yet, like Gabe who was not willing to wait for the train, we opt not to wait, but rather take matters into our own hands.

Why is waiting so difficult? It requires that we stop the momentum and trust that something will take place. Similarly, waiting on the Lord entails the ability to pause, submit to a higher authority and trust with confidence in God's action.

As Gabe found out, an inability to wait may actually hinder our progress.  We can mess things up when we take matters into our hands rather than trust in God's understanding.

What are you waiting for? Perhaps you are waiting for your child to learn obedience or for your spouse to see things your way. Maybe you're waiting for just the right job to come along or to save enough money so that you can take a vacation. You could be waiting for your body to heal so that you can exercise again, or you might be waiting to see if a new medication will help you feel better. Life is full of waiting...so how do we deal with it?

We can use times of waiting to grow in our walk with God. In Psalm 130: 5-8, the psalmist wrote,
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope. 
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

When we wait with hopeful expectation that the Lord will answer, we are confident that He will make something happen when it is the right time. We anticipate His answer and rely on His guidance and His unfailing love.

Dear Lord,
Help me in my impatience to place my hope in Your Word and Your unfailing love.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.