Obviously, life is out of our hands. The economy, the laws, the virus. As humans we are filled with such ingenuity and creativity that it is frustrating we cannot create an app to fix the world right now. In fact, there is very little that we actually can and do control.
And I bet right now if you are anything like me, that all the unknowns in the world are making you feel helpless, scared, and on edge. And at minimum, just plain frustrated.
Although these feelings are justifiable, they are not a place you should be living from. It is scientifically not good for your health, and it is spiritually not good for your faith.
The advice that is being given is, “just stay positive” “look on the bright-side” and my personal favorite, “we are in this together”.
That might work for you, but for me it just makes me want to roll my eyes. I know, I know… clearly, I need more Jesus.
As well tended as those words are, they are not aggressive or nearly potent enough to drive out the depth of what I am feeling. I need something stronger.
Here is what does work for me.
Calling my fears out of hiding by name. Individually, each one.
You cannot destroy an emotional stronghold in your life if you do not acknowledge it is there. In other words, you cannot work to overcome what you are turning a blind eye to.
So in all transparency here are my strongholds that have been causing me to live in a place God never intended me to be in.
- Fear: Fear of financial economical instability and potential collapse.
- Doubt: Are good things really in store for me? Does God really have a plan for my life?
- Comparison: God must love others more than me, because he has given them things that I do not have.
Do any of those sound familiar?
Now here is an interesting thing I learned while getting my undergraduate in psychology.
When you are trying to remove or get rid of a thought it is impossible to get rid of it by trying to not think of it.
The harder you try not to think about something, the more prevalent the thought becomes. Any one try to go on a diet? the more you try not to think about the chocolate bar, the more you want it.
It is not enough to remove a thought. You must replace it with another thought.
Your brain can not just take a thought away, something else needs to be put in it’s place.
So when you are trying to remove strongholds of lies and fears, we must replace those thoughts with ones God intended us to live by. Or else they will just come right back.
So now let’s edit the fears I acknowledged that were stealing my joy, weakening my faith, and all-around making me a tough person to be around.
- Fear to Courage: My future is secure because my security comes from God, not from the economy. Psalm 16:6
- Doubt to Trust: God’s plan for my life is better than what I imagined. It may be harder than what I imagined for myself, but it will be better. Jeremiah 29:11
- Comparison to Thankfulness: The material things in life are not a measurement of God’s love for me, my bank account is not reflective of my worth. James 2:5
This is what works for me. No news report, commercial, or celebrity singing montage can put to rest the fears the enemy is trying to plant in all of us right now.
I do not know about you, but I need something more powerful. And nothing secures, soothes, and restores my soul like some powerful truth.
Lysa Terkheurst say, “What captivates our hearts fuels our actions”.
I encourage you today to take the time and look under the bed of your heart. Call out your fears by name so they have nowhere to hide. To keep them from returning, replace that space with truth.
If you do not know what the truth is, open your bible.
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