Thinking on the Truth

Dear Reader,

I want to talk about thought life again.  Back in May, I wrote to you about how the enemy encourages the spirit of fear.  Now I want to draw your attention to another powerful tool used against us that starts in our minds, but untamed, can damage our relationships with others.  It may begin as the simple question, "I wonder what she thinks of me?"  With continued thought and a few days without talking, it might become, "She obviously doesn't agree with me."  That opens the door to, "Well, I don't need an unsupportive friend anyway."  And there, a friendship dies without any words except in the mind of the thinker!

This may seem far-fetched, but it reminds me of a friendship of my own.  One day, I revealed a political opinion that hushed my friend quickly.  I didn't hear from her for awhile after that.  I kept thinking about the conversation, growing angry that she dared judge me.  But instead of immediately addressing my concern (that she looked down on me) by talking to her, I let my anger fester, assuming the worst.  Thinking she judged me, I started judging her.  By the end of each conversation I had with myself, our friendship seemed to make less sense.

I finally asked her what was wrong, to which she replied, "Nothing." 

Oh, that made me so mad!  Of course something was wrong!  She wasn't acting herself.  She must have been really upset with me!  So I tried to pry her open to see the truth.  She met me with stronger resistance, and I stumbled backwards and landed on my crobar.  That hurt.  So I finally decided to give her some room, and we stopped speaking. 

Later, she revealed that my opinion greatly upset her.  I held fast to what I believed, angry that she had lied to me.  She held fast to what she believed...and I don't quite know what she felt.  But our friendship never picked up after that. 

Let me break down what we did wrong, according to the Bible:

I did not take my thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).  According to the Word, all of my thoughts need to be obedient.  As soon as I started thinking harsh thoughts about my sister in the Lord, I disobeyed 1 Corinthians 13:4,5, which says, "Love...thinks no evil." 

I did not think on what is true (Philippians 4:8).  Even sooner than I started judging my friend, I forgot to think on what is true.  The Bible says that if a sister is sinned against, she is to go to the sinner and reveal the fault.  Until my sister came to me, I could not assume she had anything against me. 

I claimed omniscience only attributed to God (Isaiah 55:9).  When I decided what my friend thought, I presumed I had the highest knowledge. 

My friend let the sun set on her anger (Ephesians 4:26).  Though she eventually told me that I offended her (as prescribed in Matthew 18:15), she stewed in her frustration first.

We couldn't get over the pride of our opinions (Proverbs 16:18).  Because of this, I didn't speak to my friend for a year.  Though the Lord led me to reconcile, my friend did not wish to pursue our once active friendship.  What had started in our minds manifested itself in our lives, and now each of us has one less companion.    

With the boom in technology, we hear about what a powerful tool the mind is.  Yes, absolutely!  But too many people underestimate how the enemy can use it to distract or destroy God's people.  What happened between my friend and I did not build up the Body.  I regret my immature thought life, and though we "split" years ago, I wonder how much I've grown in controlling my mind since then.  Recently, I realized how heavy my thoughts felt.  The pressure of impressing people with my words and actions began taking a toll.  It seemed like I relayed to my husband concerns about others' thoughts, perceptions and presumed opinions every week.  I had been focusing on another Bible study, so I put away Elizabeth George's Loving God With All Your Mind.  But the Lord reminded me of the importance of thinking on the truth.  So I picked it up again a couple of weeks ago, and it will be my focus until I finish it (or until the Lord leads me elsewhere, whichever comes first!).   

I want to encourage you to train your brain with me.  Our human nature dictates our thought lives unless we teach ourselves to think on the truths of the Word.  Each lesson in my workbook for Loving God With All Your Mind asks the same question: "What can you do this week, in obedience to Christ, to think on the truth?"  And each time, I remember the importance of knowing the truth in order to think on the truth.  We need to read God's Word!  If we don't know what is true, how can we expect to think anything but lies?  So be diligent to read the treasures of the Bible this week and every week, and together we'll learn to think on what is true. 

Blessings,
adguglielmo

 

A Temple for God

"Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's"-1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.

Dear Reader,

My husband and I are competing to see who can lose eight pounds first.  So far, we've trudged through a level one "8 Minute Abs" video, and we haven't had dessert all week. 

The dedicated road to weight loss seems much easier together.  All my life, I've struggled with poor body image.  For years and years, I made my major goal losing weight.  I had academic, life and spiritual goals, too, but they never took first place.  Instead, I focused on my body.  With all of the effort and energy I expended, I should have gotten in shape and been satisfied.  However, I gained ten pounds one year, five pounds the next, and ten pounds more.  I was crushed.

I can't trace my battle with food back to a specific date, but I know some of my greatest struggles began at age 15.  First, I tried convincing myself that I didn't have to eat (what a glamorous life I could live at 80 pounds!).  I listed every crumb that I consumed, calculating fat grams and carbs.  At night, I would lie awake, budgeting calories for the next day.  Quartering portions made my head ache, from both over thinking and hunger.  By the end of the week, I would take my measurements and discover I had lost a couple of inches.  And then I would overeat.  I would try so hard not to eat  and then make up for all that I had deprived myself of during the week.  I would remeasure on Sunday and discover my bloated belly added a few inches to what I had to lose.  So on Monday, I would resume my "orderly" plan.

This sort of eating phased in and out throughout the years.  At times, it was replaced by fasting completely.  Other times, I ate more than several grown men could in a day.  Purging cycled through from the time I was 16.  Needless to say, I was out of control.

Until fairly recently, this struggle with food overshadowed everything else in life.  It consumed my mind, as drugs consume the mind of a user.  I wondered how much I could accomplish if I weren't always thinking about food and my figure.  I desperately wanted to stop abusing my body.  I reached out to the church for help.  I reached out to fellow believers online in chat rooms dedicated to encouraging healthy, godly lifestyles.  I attended a church recovery group for people once addicted to drugs and alcohol. I started seeing a Christian counselor.  I prayed constantly.  I meditated on verses like 1 Corinthians 10:31: "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God" (I thought that one was written just for me!).  But no matter what I did, I just couldn't stop. 

Here's the key: I wouldn't stop.  I had it wrong all those years.  Had I really believed 1 Corinthians 10:13 ("God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it"), I would have known that my actions could not be attributed to anyone but me.  Yes, the tempter tempted me very effectively.  Even when God's "way of escape" arrived crystal clear, I took things into my own hands and rejected His provision.  I repeatedly made the mistake of thinking that eating would make me feel better, even though I always felt worse afterward.  And the whole time, I kept wondering, Lord!  I'm praying for Your help!  Why aren't You helping me?    

I made two major discoveries.  The first, before I stopped abusing God's temple, was Colossians 3:1-3: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God."  Where had I set my mind?  Certainly not on my life with Christ in God!  In spite of all of my pleading prayers, my mind remained on the things on the earth (my body).  Though my heart greatly desired the ability to just eat like a normal person, without having to miss meals with family and friends because of a diet, and without blowing off events with those same people to sit at home overeating, I thought if I trusted the Lord to guide me to eat properly, I would never lose weight.  I couldn't get past my earthly body.

The period between abusing food and enjoying God's provision perplexes me.  Again, I can't point to a specific date and say, "I was healed this day!"  But I know the Lord used the building up of my relationship with my husband and his family to produce my new, healthy approach to eating.

An Old Testament verse explained away my confusion about why the Lord "wasn't helping me."  Isaiah 59:1,2 says: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."  Why didn't God remove my burden as soon as I prayed for help?  It's because my willful sin caused a separation between us that prevented Him from hearing my prayers.  I was disobedient and thought I knew what was best for me.  I continued to disregard the command to glorify God in my body.  How could He hear me when I continuously profaned what belonged to Him?

I praise the Lord for softening my heart and enabling me to seek the things above.  I am far more concerned with exercising myself toward godliness (1 Timothy 4:8) now that Satan's lies about food and my body have been dusted out of my head.  I mentioned the competition between my husband and I because I'm thankful to finally put weight loss in perspective.  Thinking about my physical flaws no longer fills up the day.  Instead of thinking about how to look more like Twiggy, I think about how to become more like Christ.  My husband will probably win the competition, and he will receive due reward.  But I'm just so thankful to be able to eat with a grateful heart!

Because this temptation and sin took up much of my life, I pray that God will use me to comfort those who are struggling, just as He has comforted me (2 Corinthians 1:4).  Let me know how I may be of service to you today.

God bless His children, 

adguglielmo

Whatever Things Are True

"Whatever things are true...think on these things"-Philippians 4:8.

Dear Reader, 

This week I started on the workbook for Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George.  A friend gave me the book and its corresponding study back in December.  I read a few chapters then, and it helped me realize all of the lies the enemy puts in our heads (as did The Screwtape Letters).  At the time, I needed to get over a hump, and just reading the first couple of chapters enabled me to do that.  Well, then came the final weeks before the wedding, then the honeymoon, then all of the settling...I just didn't pick it up for awhile.  I've had the intention, but I didn't make the commitment until the Lord brought the book into multiple conversations and Biblical messages last week.  

So I've been thinking about the first chapter all week.  It hones in on the verse above, and, let me tell you, exercising this command has proven unnatural.  That may appear to be a strong claim, but here's a little on just one of Satan's tactics that he has been using in my life:

He puts morbid scenarios in my head.  I've only told my husband about a few of them, but I have awful daydreams without realizing it.  I imagine a loved one dying, or an emergency situation (in a less than preparatory way).  I imagine being in a serious car crash, or an intruder marching through the door to take me captive.  I've always had a vivid imagination, and I found that writing my Barbie's stories in my head was always more fun than making her play them out.  But I've also had a lot of years of sudden emergency situations, and I think the devil has a hay day using my memory as a tool against me presently.  When I was growing up, I can't count the times that the police came out to my house.  The call would come from a family member, a neighbor or myself.  And these things would happen in the middle of the night as likely as they would in the middle of the day (it was never safe).  I would be asleep and have school or work the next morning, and explosive yelling would ring out.  One of the most dangerous times was only a couple of years ago, before my mom separated from her husband.  It seemed like something happened every day or night.  I carried my cell phone everywhere, including into the bathroom.  I tried to shower quickly so I would hear a fight start and be prepared for whatever happened next.  I slept in clothes I thought I could run in, if I had to.  

Now I sleep soundly next to my husband, knowing I'm safe.  I sleep in the arms of the Lord, confiding, "What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6).  

But the enemy knows what happened for all those years, and before I've been able to remember to think on whatever things are true, new wicked scenarios and untruthful images run through my head.  Sometimes they're upsetting, and other times, I am numb because of how frantic my life once was.  But I know they come from the evil one.  

This book is a perfect, necessary read for anyone who has experienced trauma.  We get swept up in our thinking before we know it's all lies.  But we're not allowed to do that.  The Lord commands us to take every thought captive and put it under the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).  As He instructs us in Philippians 4:8 to think on eight virtues, He instructs us not to think on what opposes those virtues.  So we disobey God when we give in to thinking about things untrue?  Yes.  Like I said, especially for people who have undergone some form of abuse, it seems unnatural to think on what is true instead of our anxieties (powered by Satan), which direct our thoughts.  But it's unnatural to do any of the things the Lord commands us to do when we're in our flesh.  That's why we need to ask the Lord to help us to take our thoughts captive.  We need to ask Him to transform us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).  I looked up the Greek for "renewing" in Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, and came up with the word anakainosis, meaning "a renewal," which "stresses the willing response on the part of the believer."  This means it will be work.  We can't change our lifetime patterns of thought overnight.  But with the Holy Spirit working inside of us, we can think on the truth and leave Satan's lies in the dust.

Lord, I pray for forgiveness, because though I know what Your Word calls me to think on, I have forgotten and allowed my mind to run free when my thoughts ought to be captive.  Help me to take them captive, that they may be under Your authority, Jesus.  Help others who have been touched with trauma, that they may see that Your truths conquer the enemy's lies.  Direct us to Your Word when the liar starts speaking.  I pray that we will learn to always turn to You.  Amen.

I hope my anecdotes are helpful.  I don't feel sadness or anger when I relay them to you because I have forgiven those who created that past, and also because I long for the Lord to put to use that tribulation.  I want to comfort you as He comforted me (2 Corinthians 1:4), because He allowed the affliction for your benefit (verse 6).  

The Lord bless us and guide us together, 

adguglielmo