Sponges. Soak up the mess, rinse, squeeze and they’re ready the next time you need them. Forget that last part and man oh man, you’ve got one stinky sponge on your hands.
Our minds are like that sponge. They soak up messes (others and ours) and if not rinsed and squeezed, those garbage thoughts are going to cause our lives to stink and we’ll end up taking our drug of choice. The writer of the Hebrews calls this, “throwing off everything that hinders” so we “run the race the race marked out for us.”
Over the course of the next few days, we’re going to examine some of those garbage thoughts that need to be washed (expose the lie and exchange it with the truth) and then squeezed out (focus on and then exercise that truth).
One hindering thought to squeeze out is doubt. Research has shown that “self-doubt leads to anxiety and depression, which, in turn, leads to numerous physical and mental consequences like weight gain, high blood pressure and chronic fatigue.”
When you start to experience doubts wash them out by focusing on specific lie-fighting truths; such as, God has prepared a good work for you to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10). You can do something positive and good with the life God has now given you. Make a list of who your God is. It is “in Christ” that you can do that something He prepared for you to do. It’s not just self doubt, but God-doubt that makes our lives stink.
Look back and see how God has changed your life to this point. Remember. Remember. Remember. We often forget in the midst of our current struggles how far He has already taken us. Yes, we are not “there”…yet. The truth is that the “author” of our faith is also the “perfecter” of our faith. He will finish the job. Remember, we are in process.
Lastly, speak truth into each others’ lives (Eph. 4:15). Be in a Bible Impact Group where you are mutually encouraging each other. These words of encouragement, when focused on, are great ways to squeeze out the doubts.
Victors in Christ focus on the good stuff and wash out the bad. Wash out the doubt and focus on the truth that you “can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.”
Set Fr“EE” Nowww