A song by Casting Crowns just came on the radio. It's called "The Voice of Truth." I'm sure most of you have heard it before, as I have, many times. But today it has new meaning to me. As I mentioned in my previous post, my Dad was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July. A couple days ago, he went in for a biopsy of the tumor. They ended up removing the entire tumor! There are a couple of test results we are still waiting for, but the initial pathology report shows no cancer! My Dad and my entire family are so incredibly relieved.
Over the past few weeks, I have heard many "voices" in my ears. Most of them have been incredibly encouraging and I am so grateful to have so many positive people in my life. Then there are the other voices of some not so encouraging people. Some of them, I believe, were just overcome with emotion and expressed it outwardly when we initially found out about the tumor. But I realize that some people are just "doomsday folks" any way you look at them. The other "voices" were my own thoughts. Whether I was thinking them on my own, or whether the enemy (Satan) had a hand in them, I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that they were far from encouraging. Some of them were just plain scary to tell you the truth.
The question I had to ask myself was, "Who are you gonna listen to?" There's a difference between what we hear and what we choose to listen to. To hear means: a) to perceive by the ear, b) to be informed of. To listen means: a) to give attention with the ear; attend closely with the purpose of hearing; give ear, b) to pay attention; heed; obey, c) to concentrate on hearing something. We can't always choose what we hear, but we can choose what we listen to. I can hear some things that go in one ear and out the other; not affecting me in the slightest, but there are other things that I hear and then begin to really listen to. Those are the things that can take root and begin to affect me in a negative way if I'm not careful.
It is so important, especially when we're facing difficult circumstances of which we have no control over, that we choose to listen to the voice of Truth. The voice of Truth is Jesus Christ. What would the Lord say about your circumstance? What or who would the Lord tell you to believe? Who are you letting influence your thoughts? If they don't line up with the Word of God, throw them out! (Not the people, the thoughts...well, maybe some people too.) Don't let negative thoughts continue because they can turn into thought patterns and eventually end up affecting your personality. I never want to be defined as a negative person. My mind is a battlefield some days and it takes constant help from the Lord to win the battle. Don't try to defeat the battle of negative thoughts in your own strength. You need the Lord's help.
Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast all your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."
1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." It goes on in verse 8 to say, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
We are easier to "devour" when we are weak. We are easier to devour when we are already troubled by our circumstances. It's crucial that we remain alert, especially when we are faced with bad news, in a bad set of circumstances, or feel all alone. Our patience, endurance, and our faith can be tested during those times and it makes it easier for the devil to prey upon us. That is why it's especially important during difficult times to surround yourself with positive and encouraging people. Get around other Christians who will lift you up, not try to tear you down or dig a deeper hole for you to lie in. Pay attention to what you are listening to and don't try to go it alone!
When Jesus said to cast all our cares on him, he didn't mean just set them down nicely at his feet. Listen to the definitions of the word "cast": a) to throw or hurl; fling, b) to throw off or away, c) to throw out, d) to throw forth; as from within; emit or eject. You have to imagine that when you are casting your cares (or, thoughts) on the Lord, you are throwing them off of you with no intention of taking them back. You are to hurl them. In the words of Judah Smith, "You gotta be a hocker! Just hock your cares at Jesus!" It takes a decision to cast your cares on Jesus. In order to cast something, you have to be willing to let it go. Let go of the negative thoughts and people in your life that are bringing you down. This gets tricky if you're dealing with say, a family member close to you. You can still interact and be polite to people who are negative, but you don't have to listen to the negative words coming out of their mouth.
I encourage you to spend some quiet time with the Lord on a daily basis. It is in those moments where we can hear him and listen to what he has to say. I'm not saying you'll never hear God unless you're sitting alone in a quiet room. But if you really need to hear the Lord regarding a certain situation, being alone and quiet and ready to listen is a good way to hear him. Guard your heart and your mind. Be ready to take every thought captive and evaluate it. If it's not in line with what God says, throw it out! God will always give you hope in the midst of your circumstances. He will always speak life into the situation. If it's not something encouraging, uplifting, positive, etc. then you can probably bet it doesn't need to be in your head. I'm not talking about regular old thoughts like, "Wow, I really like that car. That dog is funny looking. I could really go for a cup of coffee right now. Etc., etc." I'm talking about negative thoughts that make you feel something. Thoughts that lead to more thoughts, and can even change your attitude or your outlook in a negative way. Those are the ones that you need to cast off of you almost before you are even done thinking it.
I look at a negative thought as though a creepy spider just landed on me. Do you think there's a chance that I'm going to let that spider just hang out on my pant leg? No way! I'm going to cast it off as soon as I know it's there. Then, I'm going to make sure I killed it and look around for more of them to make sure there are no other spiders in sight. That's what you have to do when you get negative thoughts. Check to see where the thought came from and if it's developed into any kind of a pattern. It's easy to let one negative thought slip in, then another one, and another one. That's why you have to have to deal with them as quickly as possible.
I will leave you with one last scripture. "We demolish arguments and take every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul uses military terminology to describe this warfare against sin and Satan. Even our thoughts must be submitted to God as we live this life for Him.
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