Part 2
trust god? My last blog was about the question of whether God deserves your trust at all: How does he want to work in your life? Is God Really Good? This blog is about: How do you deal with negative thoughts? What can you change in your thinking to become free? And how do you learn to relax with God so that you really feel what you believe: that God's love drives away the panic, fear and heaviness in you.
expose lying thoughts
Have you discovered lies that keep you from trusting God? Remember, there are reasons to be suspicious. God is not disappointed that you do not trust him. He never had the wrong idea of who you are and what you think.
But he absolutely wants to rid you of the lying thoughts that keep you from trusting. With Adam and Eve the lie was: “God is greedy and greedy for power. Therefore he forbids us the fruits that bring knowledge.” They believed the lie, and that lie caused suspicion in their hearts. Distrust was just like the pus from a wound, the lie was the splinter.
Getting rid of pus and leaving the sprout in has never been a good idea. Wondering about the pus is stupid. Bitching about someone's pus is even more stupid.
The splinter has to come out, then the wound will heal.
The lie has to come out, then your heart can finally trust God more and more
Find these lies with God's help and make a trade with him.
3 C's: catch, cancel, change
The other day I was listening to a podcast by Holly Bray where she talked about the 3 C's. It was about dealing with negative thoughts. In English, these stood for Catch - Cancel - Change (catch - cancel - change).
That reminded me a lot of 2 Cor 10:3-5. At this point, Paul is dealing with people who have spread lies among Christians about him and their faith in Jesus. In his argument he writes about how he fights against the spread of these lies by the people:
“We may live in this world, but that doesn't mean that we fight as the world fights. 4 The weapons with which we fight our battle are not the weapons of this world. They are weapons from resounding powerwho serve, in service for God hostile forts to destroy. Bring with these weapons we arbitrary thought building to collapse 5 and (we) tear every obstacle, no matter how high, that stands in the way of true knowledge of God. All that selfish thinking we capture, that it may become obedient to Christ.”
His argument at this point was probably with other people. But I notice that this struggle, as he describes it, also takes place in my thinking almost daily:
In my head, too, little men sometimes run around and spread their thoughts about God and the world, about me and my mistakes, etc. Thoughts just come like that. And after the thought has been there for a while, it causes the corresponding feelings as well.
This can make everyday life very tiring. Because negative thoughts create negative feelings. But there are really helpful truths that can help you manage your thoughts and feelings better.
destructive lies = fear and despair vs.
God's thoughts = peace and hope
The ideas can be divided into two groups:
There are thoughts that come from God's heart and correspond to his nature. We humans generally refer to these thoughts as positive thoughts.
This is how Christians and non-Christians perceive it: “You are loved and valuable, nice that you exist, don’t give up, you are great, I have forgiven you, a new beginning is possible today, look around: you see, how beautiful the world is?..."
And then there are thoughts that already feel like darkness and confusion: "What are you even on this earth for? Who's gonna miss you? You are an ugly person. you'll never make it Why keep fighting? That's no use anyway. Nothing will ever change – except for the worse.” These thoughts are squarely opposed to God's mind and heart, and are actively fighting the faith in your heart.
Trust God: He addresses difficult issues with love
Is there nothing then that God will ever criticize about you? Yes, it is really important that God corrects you and me and that I am also open to correction. Otherwise it's doom for you and me.
But when the Holy Spirit works change in you, He does it with His Peace and His Love working together. But first you have to believe that it's okay if you make mistakes.
Do you believe deep in your heart that it's terrible when you make a mistake? Then it also feels terrible to admit your mistakes in front of you, God and other people.
The first step to freedom is this: identify the bad thought in your heart.
As I said, you will not find bad fruit on a good tree and nothing good will grow on a bad tree.
God's power is at work in you and wants to help you to break through destructive thought fortresses, buildings and obstacles, to bring them down and tear them down.
Are you struggling with smug ("I'm so great!") or self-defeating ("Why am I not so great?!") thoughts? You can "catch" them through Jesus and subordinate them to Jesus: He is the highest and most worthy person - and still your servant. There's not much room for pride.
HOW TO TRUST AND HOW NOT TO
So now you've discovered thoughts that keep you from trusting. What can you do?
If you have found sentences in yourself that make trust difficult, you have found in these sentences at the same time what you believe. Because the thought in you that God z. B. asking you to be perfect is your true belief.
Your deepest thoughts are your true beliefs. If someone asks you what you believe in, share your deepest thoughts with them.
If you were extremely uncomfortable because they didn't agree at all with what your beliefs actually are, you can be happy: you've finally found the splinter!
Fake relax
Imagine sitting in a chair and saying, "This chair is amazing! There is no one better or more stable.” But in reality you think this chair is too rickety to support your weight for more than two minutes.
Therefore, you will not put your weight on the chair, you will just pretend to be sitting. How cozy would that be? You can proclaim with faith all you want, “I'm so glad to have this chair in my life. Life would be so exhausting without this chair. I could never really rest.”
After two minutes at the most, people around you would probably notice your muscles starting to tremble. And after five minutes, even the last person would have noticed that you don't look relaxed at all and this chair of yours doesn't even remotely live up to its promises.
God wants to be your favorite chair
God is like this chair. And he really doesn't enjoy it if you are living a life where you just pretend to be leaning on him. He wants to carry you with all your burdens.
Do you know this verse: "Without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6). Why is it that without faith you cannot please God? Precisely because God wants to be your chair on which you can throw your whole life weight.
If a chair had thoughts, it might not like it at all if a person never really sat down, but rather half-standing. That also looks silly. A chair is designed to carry you.
God has a purpose for you too themselves determined who he wants to be for you. He wants to be your shepherd, your water, your food, your strength, your father, your lover, your provider, your king, your boss, your prince of peace, your hope and your source of life.
What is left for you to do? Lean on him with all your life, burdens, failures and sin and accept who he is.
Trust in theory
You alone decide whether you trust theoretically or practically. You can trust God all your life like a person who never really sits down in the chair.
Let me tell you: this is going to be a terribly exhausting life. Maybe your faith is just as exhausting? Then have the courage: sit down, get to know God better. God invites you to trust because he will really carry you and is actually good.
Every thought that comes to your mind that suggests you don't trust is answered by you every time, very often with a "Yes, that's right". Your thoughts only change when you give these thoughts a different answer inwardly:
"I made a mistake! But I have to do everything right!” – “No, I live by his grace. He is so faithful and has forgiven my debt. He makes me new!”
“Even God can no longer change anything. It is too late.” – “No, what is impossible with man is possible with God.”
"My heart just cannot believe." - No, for no word that comes from God will be of no power" (Luke 1:37).
trust god
Where do you trust God only theoretically? Did you become aware of new things? Write things down and bring them to God. Ask him to help you and see the truth. He helps!
What are your inner sentences like? Continue your list and find the answer to your doubts in the Bible. And then decide to accept what God says as truth.
In the end it remains that: your decision. He gave you strength and his truth. Do you trust in its power and truth? Then pretend today that you believe it.
Nothing is more worthwhile than saying goodbye to a life in which you theoretically trust God - and finding your way to a life in which you can let your whole weight fall on God because you know for sure: He takes care of you ! (1 Peter 5:7).
Question to God: Show me where I only trust you theoretically... what have you become aware of?
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