Daily we are summoned to court. A trial occurs in our head. We hear the voices of a prosecutor (the Hebrew word “Satan” means accuser) and witnesses that testify against us. We’ve got the right attorney or advocate – Jesus, who pleads our case before God. But still, we listen to the voices accusing us. The accusing voice says things like, “You’re not good or smart enough”, “You’re a failure”, “You’re not worthy”, “You’re hopeless”, “You’ll never get better”, “You’re trapped”, etc. These phrases replay over and over in our minds.
This internal critic, a voice of inner chatter and non-stop conversations, drives our reactions. It tries to govern our lives. It’s mostly negative and focused on ourselves, and appeals to our pride. It creates a constant low-grade crisis and at times creates an all-out crisis. It’s focused on the past (usually regrets and mistakes) and the future, but rarely on the present moment which is the only thing we can affect or control. It’s driven by unexamined urges and desires that are deep in our subconscious (see Jeremiah 17:9). It judges us and others. It taunts us. It is never satisfied. It compares you and me to others. It thrives on drama.
Here’s how it works: Something happens or happened to us. We have a thought or belief about it. That belief or voice may or may not be true or accurate. If the thought goes unexamined, then we’ll feel and act on it. To change how we respond, we have to change what we believe about what we are experiencing. You see, the Bible promises that we can renew our thinking, change the way we react and be transformed (Romans 12:2).
Our thoughts are just thoughts. They are not necessarily true or based on reality and they tend to be extraordinarily negative (one research said 70% of our thoughts are negative). Our thoughts exist only in our heads. They must be examined. The Bible says we are to guard our hearts (Proverbs 4:23) and take every thought captive and let it be subject to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
We are not our every thought or feeling. We have to examine the lies that fuel our lives. How do we do that? We start by slowing down our minds and reflecting on what that “voice” is telling us. We identify the thought and then let the Word of God and the Holy Spirit judge it. If it is a lie, we have to consciously choose to reject it. When we get stuck (we all do, I have), we reach out to trusted friends or even professionals to help us objectively deal with the lies. There’s also an excellent book by Jennie Allen that might help called Get Out of Your Head.
In the end, you can’t stop all the negative thoughts from popping up in your head. They come from Satan himself and arise out of our mysterious subconscious. You can, however, control how you handle those thoughts. Join us this Sunday at all of our campuses as we address this issue and explore God’s invitation to us to renew our minds.
Glen Elliott
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The primary way that the devil tries to tempt us, trick us and trap us is though lies (see John 8:44). He wants us to believe lies about ourselves, others, our life, about God, about what’s good or fair and more. Our best defense against this is truth. Lies have the power to hurt us, and we need to know the truth and use it to destroy that power. That’s why Paul wrote this in 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) – We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. We use the truth to evaluate every thought and take captive every lie.
I went through a two-year season where I listened to the devil’s lies about me. The core consistent message I heard was that I wasn’t a good enough leader or pastor for our church. I was stuck listening to the lies repeated in my head, so I sought help from a Christian counselor. He helped me realize I was listening to lies and then directed me to reconnect with God’s truth. After looking carefully at the scriptures and embracing God’s truth again, I was able to resist the devil and his lies and find freedom. He then encouraged me to take the scriptures and put them into a letter as if God were writing them to me. I shared part of that letter in last Sunday’s message. Here’s the full letter:
Dear Glen;
I have called you to be faithful not successful. You are not responsible for kingdom success. In the end, it is I who will be the one to evaluate and judge your work and My judgments are just (1 Corinthians 4:1-5).
Your competence comes from me. I delight in using you to accomplish My purposes. Allow Me to make you competent to be the pastor and leader I need to boldly advance the revolution of the kingdom (2 Corinthians 3:4, 5). As a carefully crafted piece of art, I will continue to make you into someone who will fulfill My purposes. I am preparing you for good works (Ephesians 2:10). Trust Me in this and fully show up.
Your focus is to first be deeply rooted (abide, remain) in Jesus. That is the only path to producing lasting spiritual kingdom fruit. I want you to produce much fruit, but only as you stay rooted in My love, truth, and power (John 15:4, 5).
So, refuse to listen to the harsh critical voices of condemnation, whether internal or external (2 Corinthians 10:5). Those voices are not My voice. I do not condemn My own children (Romans 8:1; Isaiah 50:7-9). Trust Me to help you faithfully show up with holy boldness, doing what I have called you to do without self-doubt. Cast off anything that weighs you down as you run the race I have set for you (Hebrews 12:1).
I have not asked you to do the work of ministry alone (Philippians 2:12, 13 – the “you” is plural). Trust Me to make you competent and invite others to help you carry the load. Depend on Me and collaborate with others. True collaboration is a part of your faithful service. And finally, don’t rely on yourself to make it all happen. Rather, make it a priority to invest in and equip others to do the work of the kingdom (Ephesians 4:11-13).
What are the lies to which you are listening that are damaging or ruining you? May I encourage you to re-engage with God and his truth to take those lies captive? Join us this Sunday, July 21st, as we look at how to resist the devil. I’ll also be inviting people to make the commitment to follow Jesus in baptism. You won’t want to miss this Sunday.
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