Workin’ It

A new person in my life reminded me of something really important last week:  We must guard our thoughts……Actively.

Isn’t it funny how these little “revelations” hit us? It’s not like I hadn’t heard that before. It’s not like I haven’t read it over and over again in scripture.

So as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7

It’s not like I haven’t studied all the Lord says about the importance of guarding our minds, walking in victory and not receiving condemnation from the enemy.

But guess what? I still needed to be reminded. I needed to hear it from someone else who follows after Christ as well.

I always say this: “We forget to remember.”

I believe part of this is due to the fact that we allow the enemy to close us up – to trap us inside our own minds – so we are just stuck with it (the negativity). Or so he wants us to think.

Another reason we forget to remember is we fail to remain active in guarding our minds. To remember that we need to continually seek God’s power and protection over our minds is so very crucial. To remember that one slip…one moment…one second with us not watching or asking for the Lord to cover us, and the enemy sneaks right in.

Damage gets done very quickly that way.

This new person who helped me is my boss, and I am so grateful to her. She spoke God’s words to me, reminded me of how important it is to walk in victory, not receive condemnation, and at the same time, she acknowledged that even so, “it’s still hard.”

It was scary to share this stuff with my new boss, for sure, but I don’t regret it. Truth is more important to me than “looking good” from the outside. If the inside is messed up? Well, what we show on the outside won’t last very long, performance-wise, now will it? I want truth – I want for those I work with to know they can count upon me that they will be getting the real stuff. I want it to be lasting! That can’t happen if we just suck it up and try to perform for the sake of appearances if something is eating away at us from the inside.

Eventually, inside comes out.

Yes, the things we go through that can attack our minds, our feelings (which like to take over our logical thought processes) and our full knowledge of the fact that we are children of the Almighty God – the Great I Am – The Mighty Redeemer – those things are still hard to contend with.  Even when we know this truth. I am so thankful that my boss encouraged me that she understands that.

Wow…it sure does help to be reminded of it in ways that are uplifting and empowering, yet don’t let us off the hook! It’s awesome to be supported and listened to in ways that make us feel excited and hopeful in Christ anew! It’s amazing to encounter new people in our lives that find new ways to help us to know we are not alone, and that we will overcome with the power of Christ and fellow believers on our side!

I want to be that for others in my life, and I am so grateful to have people around me who can do the same for me.

Things in my life may still be a roller coaster at times – feelings are tricky that way and so are hormonal imbalances. But I am so grateful that God never changes!!!!

He can move mountains, remember?

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

So can we if we stop trying to work it all out by ourselves.

So can we if we have faith and wait upon the Lord.

So can we if we are honest and transparent and swallow enough pride to go to others to help us protect and guard our minds in the name of Jesus!

Today if you are workin’ it and feel alone in the mess of it all – if you feel you are about to crumble underneath the pressure – I encourage you to find a fellow believer to confide in and be transparent with who might be able to speak God’s unchanging word into your heart. Just like my new boss did for me, you may find yourself encouraged. They may just help you to remember what you have temporarily forgotten.

It’s hard to be transparent. It takes what feels like risk to do this. But if you ask me, it’s much more difficult to be an ant trying to push a huge boulder up an even bigger hill all alone. That simply sets us up for failure and makes the ground of our hearts ripe for the enemy to do his work. And make no mistake: that enemy WILL work it!

Put yourself on the hook with someone else who is a follower after Christ today. Tell them if you are having struggles with your inner thoughts. Then, take the power out of the hands of the devil and place it right back where it belongs!

In the hands of our Mighty and Wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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