Use your "outside voice"

You know, there are times in your life when you take a second and look around and realize that God is all over and around you. I can’t pinpoint when I started taking notice of it, and maybe it wasn’t conscious; however, recently, despite all the crap that is also going on, God is all over me. I have gotten to a place recently where I have tried to quit hating aspects of my life that are only in God’s control and actively trust. What does that mean? I don’t know.

I don’t know what it means for you to actively trust God in the midst of struggles, delayed fulfillment of promises or the answer “no” to your persistent questions. For me, it looks like vocally speaking the opposite of the lies. When that doubt comes in my mind that a promise from God won’t come to pass because it’s been ten years, I have to say out loud that God remains faithful to his promises and that I trust His word to come to pass; however, even if it doesn’t happen this side of Heaven, God is still good. When I wake up grumpy and irritated, dreading the work day before me, I have to say out loud that I am thankful for a job with a boss who knows and loves the Lord and for His Spirit to guide me in all truth today, to be a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. When I feel like I have more questions than answers surrounding me and I feel silence from God, I have to say out loud that God is not distant from me but to remain faithful to continue to seek God in the midst of silence and use this time to rest in knowing that He is always good and working things out for my good and His glory.

I am not perfect when it comes to active faith. I have only been doing this for a few months now, but I can passionately say that when I take a couple seconds when the lies of hell enter my mind to combat them verbally with the truth of God, something changes. My situation doesn’t change, the questions don’t get answered and the promise is not immediately fulfilled, as much as I wish it was. The aspect that changes is the attitude of my heart.

Someone reading this may have tuned me out within the first paragraph because you are a lifer. You are someone who has been exposed to Christianity, the gospel and the words I have written down before. I know I have. I have heard this my entire life and got quite a few t-shirts to prove it. I have almost always been the picture of the “good Christian girl” and someone of “faith”; but it was strictly “christianese”. If I could use different words, I would. The problem with “christianese” is that the reason it has become cliché is because it’s truth overused and abused. The concepts behind the words are based on scripture and at one point were radical, but as we sit 2000 years removed from when Jesus spoke them, they have become as common as the word “the”, where we can brush past it without taking a second glance. So, this post is as much for the lifetime Christian, maybe more, than the new believer. When was the last time you said out loud the concepts you say you’ve believed for as long as you can remember? When was the last time you made the conscious decision to actively choose faith, instead of just falling on it like a bed at night that has always been there? Maybe instead of having faith be your safety net to catch you, you start viewing it as your lifeline that will save you.

One thing this last year has done for me, in the midst of some extremely painful times, is to take a fresh look at why I do, say and believe what I have always said, done and believed. I have asked God to reveal to me the truth of His word and the basic concepts of Christianity as if I didn’t hear it for the first time until my late 20’s. As I told a friend yesterday, “I am thankful for the things I have learned and the ways I’ve seen growth through this past year, but I hope I don’t have another year like I did for another 27 years.” It’s true, I do not want to re-live a year like 2012 for another 20+ years; however, if the end results are a fresh love and passion for Jesus, I’ll take it.

No idea why I felt compelled to go so far off my original topic, but take it for what it is. Actively choose faith today. Don’t be afraid to use your “outside voice” to defeat the lies people don’t know you think every moment of the day. Speak the truth in love over yourself today.