Hey Church!

Something the Holy Spirit recently brought to my attention is a faulty pattern of thinking by which I subconsciously interpret objective facts in a negative light. 

So, for example, there was a moment this past week when all three of my kids were plugged into their separate screen-devices and ignored my call to dinner. After multiple failed attempts to get their attention, I became angry. It was not until later that evening that I recognized the source of my frustration was not their disobedience per se; I was actually angry (disgusted, really) with myself when my children disobeyed. Why? Because somewhere in the recesses of my subconscious, I interpreted their disobedience as proof that “I am a failure as a parent.” 

Another time last week, I was in a service of prayer and worship struggling to feel engaged. People all around me were enraptured in the moment but my brain was working hard to simply stay awake. The reality is that I was jet-lagged and exhausted. But without any conscious awareness on my part, I soon began to believe that I must be far from God, that He was displeased with me, and that I was a fraud standing among saints. 

Cognitive psychology tells us that something in our nature feels compelled to ascribe meaning to all of life’s circumstances. From a Christian point of view, we might say that we want to understand God’s purpose behind everything that happens. Many of us would rather believe that we are victims of some devious scheme of God than to be left in the dark waters of His sovereign mystery (e.g. We get a flat tire and blame God, rather than the nail in the road). 

The message here is not that circumstances are meaningless, but that we would do well to recognize how our interpretive lens can be muddied by sin, pain, and past disappointments… and so we draw the wrong conclusions. 

The Holy Spirit has been helping me take notice of these negative interpretations and to call out the negative self-talk for what it truly is: the lies of the enemy. If God wants to instruct me in the moment of my childrens’ disobedience, He will not hurl accusations (“You’re a failure”) but gently remind me of His long suffering grace towards me, a rebellious son. If He wishes to get my attention in worship and reveal any offensive way within me, will it not be His kindness that leads me to repentance? 

Are there circumstances in your life today that you may have misinterpreted as God’s unkindness? Humbly bring those instances before the Lord in prayer this weekend and ask for a spirit of discernment—to recognize the difference between His voice and the voice of the accuser. 

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” (Heb. 3:15)