God's Whispered Truth

I read somewhere that the average brain processes about 70,000 thoughts each day. Seventy….thousand! I have a feeling my number might exceed that. Which explains a lot! Not to mention it sounds mentally exhausting. Anyone else?

I’m not great at math, but I do know that means there are about 70,000 chances that some of those thoughts can be overwhelming and potentially lead to dark places. For me, I might feel hurt, which leads to feeling alone. And let me tell you, feeling alone with that many thoughts takes feeling isolated to a whole new level!

Sometimes my thoughts can lead to feeling frustrated about something and the more I process the frustration, the more I start to feel justified or even prideful. Sadly, it’s not too difficult to land there and it’s definitely nothing to be proud of…which is ironic when you think about it.

Other times those thoughts might be about my kids or a situation I’m facing…and I worry. Worry lends itself to doubt and fear. Never a fun place to be.

And as hard as I try to redirect those negative thoughts, sometimes it feels like there’s a missile locked on them. And when I can’t escape it, the impact is destructive. That’s when I know that you and I have a very real enemy who doesn’t play fair. He attacks in the light of day and even in our sleep.

If you’re experiencing anything like this, I wish I could look you in the eye and tell you those feelings of frustration, pride, hopelessness, despair and fear do not come from God. It’s the voice of Satan attempting to deceive us and ultimately destroy us.

The really good news is, we don’t have to believe those lies. When those moments happen, we can train our thoughts to shift our focus to God. And He’ll always be there. He’ll show up in creative ways, too.

God is omnipresent. He’s everywhere we are. We see Him in His Word. We can sense Him in our prayers. We can see evidence of Him around us. Maybe we’ll hear some sort of affirmation in a way we’d least expect, like a text or email from a friend we haven’t heard from in a while. Maybe we’ll have an encouraging encounter with a stranger. Or maybe we’ll have a quiet moment where we feel a sense of assurance wrapped all around us. Those kind of moments are my favorite.

I believe any of these experiences are God loving us how only God can love. He doesn’t condemn, like the enemy. God’s very presence is grace and truth. And it’s in us. And, God’s whispered truth is more powerful than any deceptive thoughts that pass through our brains.

Can you imagine what would happen if we shifted those 70,000 thoughts to trusting God and believing Him? I believe we’d go from feeling exhausted to feeling empowered. So, I can’t help but ask, what, and where, are your thoughts leading you? My hope for you, and me, is that they’re on a direct path to God and His promises.