Myth #2: My thoughts have little to do with my faith.
Truth: The battle to believe God begins in my head.
What goes on in my mind regulates the spiritual climate of the rest of me. The outcome of either choosing to believe God, or mentally shriveling into doubt and unbelief, is determined by what I allow to stay in my mind.
My teenage years were filled with constant turmoil because I believed everything entering my mind originated from me. I'd follow one rabbit trail after another, trying to resolve ugly thoughts with reason or mental scolding. Guilt and doubt over my salvation plagued me until I learned the enemy often implants evil thoughts in our minds to rob our peace and joy. It had worked. My mental witch hunt kept me in a state of conflict.
Through discussing my problem with a trusted spiritual mentor, I recognized confusion, fear, and doubt as phantom rabbits sent to entice me into no-man's land. Rather than running after them and beating them into submission, I began training my mind to refocus on God whenever unpleasant and worrisome thoughts emerged. It felt unnatural at first. I wanted to chase those pesky critters. Yet as I let God deal with them, I learned the faith battle could be won right there.
Isaiah 26:3 says: "The steadfast of mind Thou will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in Thee."
Since our brains function in patterns, we can change our minds to operate in active faith. Taking issues before God in prayer each morning frees us from engaging in enticing worries as we go through the day. I often sing worship songs in my head as a reminder of God's presence at the gas station, grocery store, while doing laundry, even the mall. It's my way of establishing rhythms of faith as I live life. His peace is the gift of "staying" in Him. And if I can retrain my brain, anyone can.
We don't need to decipher where our thoughts come from, Ignoring the bad and focusing on the good isn't living in denial, it's remembering truth. And truth sets us free.
Evil thoughts may intrude, but possess no power over you as a new creature in Christ. Raising your shield deflects all the "what ifs" Satan can hurl.. Faith combined with Scripture is a spiritual weapon surpassing intellect. We don't abandon our brains, we surrender them.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Faith Myths
Myth #1: My faith isn't real if I don't feel it.
Truth: It is not hypocritical to choose faith when the feeling is absent. In fact, true faith is a decision, not a feeling.
Most of the time I don't feel great faith. My feelings come and go, and are influenced by circumstances. If I allow emotion to determine when to trust God, I'll ride a spiritual roller coaster. Emotion-based faith is strong when charged by worship services and Christian gatherings, but shrivels when faced with adversity.
Ralph W Sockman, D.D. urges believers not to rely on emotion:
"Habit must play a larger place in our religious life. We worship when we feel like it, we pray when we feel like it. We read the Bible when we feel like it. Leaving our religious exercises to the promptings of impulse, we become creatures of impulse rather than soldiers of Christ. An army made up of creatures of impulse would be only a mob. So is a church."
God cares about my feelings and uses them to sense the working of His Spirit, but I cannot count on them to gauge truth. It is actually a matter of the will. Saying no to my natural tendencies and yes to God is a spiritual discipline honed by purposeful, daily intake of His word, and claiming His promises for myself. Just like building muscle, faith in Jesus Christ grows strong with intentional use.
Emotions carry us to random places. A whim shifts from one thing to another based on whatever strikes its fancy. Yet anyone can choose faith at any time, regardless of feeling. Trusting God when we don't feel like it, or when our feelings are contrary, is what He considers "faith more precious than gold" ( 1 Peter 1:7).
Truth: It is not hypocritical to choose faith when the feeling is absent. In fact, true faith is a decision, not a feeling.
Most of the time I don't feel great faith. My feelings come and go, and are influenced by circumstances. If I allow emotion to determine when to trust God, I'll ride a spiritual roller coaster. Emotion-based faith is strong when charged by worship services and Christian gatherings, but shrivels when faced with adversity.
Ralph W Sockman, D.D. urges believers not to rely on emotion:
"Habit must play a larger place in our religious life. We worship when we feel like it, we pray when we feel like it. We read the Bible when we feel like it. Leaving our religious exercises to the promptings of impulse, we become creatures of impulse rather than soldiers of Christ. An army made up of creatures of impulse would be only a mob. So is a church."
God cares about my feelings and uses them to sense the working of His Spirit, but I cannot count on them to gauge truth. It is actually a matter of the will. Saying no to my natural tendencies and yes to God is a spiritual discipline honed by purposeful, daily intake of His word, and claiming His promises for myself. Just like building muscle, faith in Jesus Christ grows strong with intentional use.
Emotions carry us to random places. A whim shifts from one thing to another based on whatever strikes its fancy. Yet anyone can choose faith at any time, regardless of feeling. Trusting God when we don't feel like it, or when our feelings are contrary, is what He considers "faith more precious than gold" ( 1 Peter 1:7).
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