It came to my attention last year through an amazing ministry that you have probably heard me talk about, Whatever It Takes Ministries, that I was believing one of Satan's lies.
I
suppose there are many more lies I choose to believe, but this one has
been particularly debilitating. The lie was this: "I don't have anything
important to say." I don't know when this lie became a part of who I
think I am, but it has been around for a long time.
I
can see how Satan has used this to keep me silent when I should speak
up. Those of you who have seen me know I am a quiet guy and I don't
think all of my quietness is tied up in this lie I was believing, but I
definitely see how it has held me back.
I began to
unpack what this lie means to me - how I was living and acting with this
lie versus how I should be living and acting in God's truth. As Jesus
said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
I
started "preaching" the truth to myself by reminding myself that God
has given me a message to spread and my words really do have value,
potentially eternal value. Each of us do!
While
cultivating the truth in this area of my life, I felt led to fast for
awhile. Ironically, the day I began the fast was the 15th anniversary of
me letting Jesus into my heart. That felt significant to me as I sought the Lord's will for the next phase of my walk with Him.
It
was an amazing fast! I could see God working in my life to show me
areas that needing work and directions He wanted me to be moving in. I
came away from that fast with two things on my heart:
1. Live in the truth that my words have meaning and value by writing them out in a public place, such as a blog.
2. Take a class on counseling. I began taking level 1 basic training at The Barnabas Center (see sidebar link) and am looking forward to taking level 2 this fall. I do not know how the Lord will use these classes, but I have noticed a great benefit in conversation by using what I have learned. Originally I went into the class with an attitude of "how can I help others with their problems?" but it was funny to begin to see the "log" in my own eye that keeps me from reaching my potential in Christ.
The
blog has been nice to keep up and I hope that it has been helpful to
some out there, but in the end it has mostly just been an exercise in
walking out the new "reality" that I can share what's on my mind. I
don't know how long this blog will last but it has been a lot of fun to keep up.
Thanks for reading!
