Category: Spiritual Growth

For some reason we think it’s permissible to doubt the truth of God’s Word about certain things. We give ourselves permission to worry or lose hope when God clearly tells us not to. Unbelief and complaining kept a generation of Israelites out of the promise land. Why do we think we can get away with it?

As a recovering sex addict, I am all too familiar with overcoming a bad thought life. Lustful thoughts, fantasy thoughts and memories of past people, places and behaviors plagued me in the early days of recovery. It’s easy to recognize these types of thoughts as sinful and easy to focus on removing them. After all they were sinful.

Thankfully, I don’t struggle with those kinds of thoughts any longer. But what about other negative thoughts: doubt, unbelief, worry, complaining? The Bible calls these thoughts sinful, too. We should be rejecting doubt and discouragement just as much as we would reject any other sinful thoughts or physical behavior.

Just like we need to reject hateful and lustful thoughts, we need to reject worrisome and discouraging thoughts. When we do reject these negative thoughts, we make room for the Holy Spirit to fill us with God’s supernatural hope and peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Like the stillness of the deep ocean floor, which is untouched by the turmoil and storms on the surface, we too can have stillness and calmness. By intentionally obeying the commanded scripture above, we are diving into the Presence of God that will provide the peace we so desperately seek.

It helps me to see my anxiety and worry as sin just like lustful fantasy thoughts are.  When I look at these negative thoughts and worries with a different perspective I am motivated to be more obedient. I am also encouraged that God will reward me with His promised peace when I do.

 

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Deep space and the deep ocean have something in common: Great Silence. Humans cannot maintain life in deep space or in the deep ocean without life-support. Our Life-Support breaks the great silence.

Silence and waiting on God are built in to the human experience. There are many places in Scripture where God was silent. People waited for days, sometimes years, for God’s answer. Moses waited 40 years in the desert before he was sent back to Egypt to save the Israelites. Joseph spent at least a decade in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Abraham and Sarah waited over 20 years for a child.

Time means nothing to God. He is outside of what we call time. He sees eternity from beginning to end, all at once. Our concept of time isn’t important. What’s important to remember is that God’s timing and His grace are for this moment. God is in the now!

 

With the Lord a day is like a thousand years 

and a thousand years is like a day. ~ 2 Peter 3:8

 

We don’t do well with long term silence.  Our psyches, our souls: our minds, wills, and emotions run from it. Silence makes us feel alone. And to be alone can be painful.  At times we experience a silence that screams so loud it is deafening. There is a suffocating silence that is so intense it is almost breath-taking, We may be asking, where is our life-support?

 

If the Lord had not been my help

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. ~ Psalm 94:17

 

We must remember we aren’t alone. Our life-support is there! The Holy Spirit is with us all along. All we need to do is take a breath. Breathe in the Holy Breath of God… Don’t allow the silence to bring anxiety and fear. Trust God. He may keep you waiting, but He always remembers promises made and will appear in His perfect time to fulfill His Word.

Be still. Wait with God. Listen. Silence may be the answer today.