“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he….” Proverbs 23:7
Profound. We often give little consideration to the random thoughts that bounce in and out of our cranium. In fact, thousands of various considerations fly through there every day and most of us never attempt to alter, examine, challenge, much less take charge of, most of them. Thoughts can convince some to achieve great things, while others cause us to succumb to the debilitating concentrations of hopelessness, sickness and fear. Thoughts are powerful.
Anyone else guilty of “feeling”, then “thinking”, then “arguing the point” with SELF?
We need to challenge every thought for truth. We, God’s people, should be of those who through careful consideration have truly chosen to follow Jesus and believe His Word wholeheartedly. It is possible–but we have to THINK about it.
I’m not going to exaggerate here…it’s been a tough few days.
At every turn I was dealing with something hitting at my core. (and frankly, I didn’t like what was bouncing back up!) Around day three I cried out, “Lord, what is this??!” And in His beautiful, soft, usual way I heard in my spirit, “You are eating the fruit of offense”. “WHAT??!” was my not so beautiful response. I knew immediately I was not in a good place. What I had reasoned as moodiness, exhaustion, loneliness, had suddenly been revealed as a plot intended to wreck my life! The enemy of my soul had been exposed and I suddenly discerned the “thoughts” that I didn’t capture!
I was “snacking” on the fruit of offense!
This has been SO revealing! Although ugly, I am TRULY GRATEFUL to see this clearly. Why? So I might repent, lay them down before The Lord, and allow Him to take this and change me.
The truth of my situation came down to this fact: there were places in me that were wrongly anchored somewhere else, or in someone else, rather than fully in Him. My “identity” was blurred. So with each passing event that challenged my security in an area, I immediately felt overwhelmed, beaten down and lost. My peace was waining. It was as if I had stepped out onto a slimy boat slip (you know the ones: nasty and precarious!). I needed Truth, His Truth. And as sure as the sun at dawn, He showed up at my cry!
Just because facts “feel” or “look” real–that doesn’t make it The TRUTH.
When things present themselves, grab those thoughts and hold them up against The Word. Are they truth? Or facade? I will confess to you that I’ve spent far too much energy contemplating facades!
Are you struggling with offense? Are there situations, events, words, people, or even wrong beliefs you need to lay at His feet? Ask Him to show you the Truth in your situation. Ask in faith. He is faithful. He will bring Truth. “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you in all truth.” John 16:13.
As I was pondering this, another scripture came to mind:
“…those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Timothy 2:25-26
“Oppose themselves”. There it was. The truth that we can oppose ourselves by believing a lie the devil dished up, and we took the bite!
These recent events in my life brought to the surface some nasty strongholds that needed to be exposed and surrendered to Jesus–wrong thought processes that have been in me for years! But I’m here to proclaim: Freedom in Truth is a WONDERFUL thing!
Am I set free? In faith and assurance of His ability and goodness, yes. In my physical thought-life sense, not quite yet. But to see my real enemy in the Light of divine Truth brings a different response!
I am choosing to no longer eat the bitter fruit of offense. But rather, consciously eating Truth instead. And my peace, His peace, has returned. 🙂
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
