I’m in the middle of a conversation right now with the Lord. He is doing a renovation in my soul around toxic thinking. I know we all deal with negativity and yuky self-talk. But He has taken it several steps further. Let’s dig in, shall we?
Part 1 — Being Tormented
God first pinpointed ownership. He asked me to examine the current theme running through my thoughts. I was at the beach when this happened so there was a LOT of noise around body image. Even though I was having intense and beautiful conversations with the Spirit, there was a underlying barrage of “you don’t – you can’t – you won’t because you aren’t – you are – you’ll never – you’ll always…”
The Lord asked me who was saying all those awful things to me.
At first I said I was.
Then the Lord said, “You’re being tormented. I don’t talk to you like that. I don’t say those things about you.”
An alarm went off for me. Torment comes from one source, the accuser.
(Revelation 12:10)
Just in case you need a refresher, torment as a verb looks like:
torture, afflict, rack, harrow, plague, haunt, bedevil, distress, agonize.
Sound familiar?
This is why we need to establish ownership. There is an enemy who hates us and tries to poison us. And there are our thoughts. Those are two different things.
If the enemy can disguise or infiltrate his lies into our thoughts, we will own them as ours. We spend our strength going in circles trying to fix it or coping to quiet the noise. This false ownership produces in us helplessness and hopelessness, which of course, is his goal. Do you remember the verse “we wrestle not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers”? A real battle is happening.
We are all human and experience the difficulties of life. And yes, emotions are tools in this journey. However. We are also filled with the most loving, optimistic Person in Heaven and Earth.
Sooooo why are we giving the enemy so much access? I believe there is a pervasive resignation and acceptance in our culture today surrounding negativity and anxiety. It’s the new normal. But God wants more for His children than non-stop torment.
Please stay tuned as I continue to unpack this revelation. Let me leave you with this diagnostic tool to help you identify truth.
Since it is “His kindness that leads us to repentance”, then evaluate who is speaking. Is the voice kind, loving, affirming? Does the voice generate hope, peace and possibility. You know, does is sound like heaven?
If not, maybe a Holy Shut Up is needed.
Photo Credit Body Love by Emily