“For My people have done two sinful things: They have turned away from Me, the well of living waters. And they have cut out of the rock wells for water for themselves. They are broken wells that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13 New Life Version
Simply-Significantly Purposeful
I have found that God uses the simplest of things to reach into the core of my soul and say to me: Change This Up. Today it was a rainy, windy day. I like to walk at least two miles a day, it helps me feel good physically and emotionally. I got up and the first thing I thought was: I can’t walk at the park today and I felt my soul sink with the weather and my “can’t do’s” take center stage in my soul. There were plenty of negative thoughts, I wasn’t taking them captive, I lazily just let them roll. The negative thoughts, evoking a very moody soul and finding their way to changing up the atmosphere in my heart, were tantalizing me with the doldrums. Yes, and it gets worse because out of the heart, the negative mouth speaks.
Wholly-Holy-His
I enjoy a constant conversation with God because I have given Him total access to my life and He talks all the time and I listen. I invite Him wholly-holy into my life, I don’t compartmentalize my life, I am all in with Him. Why? Because I know that in Jesus, I will grow through this life, not just go through to get through. I also know I can trust this growth process to Jesus. This is the way God designed us, to grow daily into a reflection of the Image of God we were created in. So, the conversation with God developed and I knew He wanted to spotlight my original thought. He shared with me all the things I “can do” on this day. Then He dropped what I call a “truth bomb” it scatters all my negative thoughts and gets my full attention. He said: “A positive “can do” thought life in play will premiere a strong faith.” Then almost simultaneously the Holy Spirit brought to remembrance:
Please, if you’re able to do something, anything—have compassion on us and help us!” Jesus said to him, “What do you mean ‘if’? If you are able to believe, all things are possible to the believer.” When he heard this, the boy’s father cried out with tears, saying, “I do believe, Lord; help my little faith!” Mark 9:23-24
Strengthen Your Inner Core
My conversation with God today, it all seemed to start clicking into a Kingdom Perspective He was equipping me with. I knew that recently, during a very long spiritual battle I prayed through, doubt plagued me and really beat up my soul. God knew it too, the weakness of my inner core, the battles I lost to doubt, these could be avoided. I “Can’t Do” spoken over and over again leads to doubt, which weakens faith and eventually flip-flops its moorings to rest on the side unbelief. The Lord wanted to interrupt that sin-cycle and strengthen me for the next time He is going to put me into spiritual warfare battle, so He simply-significantly used a rainy day to spring board into shining His light of truth on a place of needed growth.
Learning Experiences Come Purposefully So
If you could have seen me during that conversation with God, I had a smile from my soul to my lips. I knew without a doubt, God knew I was in the heat of the battle last week, feeling like it was way too much for me to handle, so thankfully, He didn’t pile on a “learning experience” in that moment. God purposefully waited for a simply-significantly easier time, a time when He would have my full focus. When God has something to say, listen up, because His timing is invaluable, He knows what is ahead, we don’t.
Jesus, “Lord, you must increase our measure of faith!” Luke 5:17
Change It Up
God wanted to change it up in my life, He wanted me to work on a new spiritual habit of letting the “Can Do”, trump the “Can’t Do”, to work this into my salvation experience, as I grow through every moment to every choice. Walking is a good thing for me, I prayer walk and that also makes it a good thing for God’s Kingdom. When I woke up to a very rainy day, immediately my first thought was: “I can’t walk today, such a bummer”. Why is it the first thought of my day begins with what I can’t do? Does our human condition, even in the everyday things of life, lean into the: “I can’t” thought pattern first? I could have awoken and said: Oh, a rainy day, now “I Can” read that book I have wanted to stop and read for a while now. I could have flip-flopped my “can’t do” to a “can do attitude”.
My First Thought
I need to change up my mind to an “I Can” first thought and stop naturally leaning first into the negative, “I Can’t” thoughts. I felt like God was putting a focus on that today. Flip-Flopping the negative thinking to what I can do, and squelching the “I can’t do” thoughts before they even mess with my soul emotions. I know this will eventually strengthen my spiritual core and increase my faith! Which one will I lean into in my thought life? Can do or can’t do? I will work towards making a new spiritual habit from every moment into every choice, I hope to change this up.
“Lord, you must increase our measure of faith!” Jesus responded, “If you have even the smallest measure of authentic faith, it would be powerful enough to say to this large tree, ‘My faith will pull you up by the roots and throw you into the sea,’ and it will respond to your faith and obey you.” Luke 17:5-6
Make It Personal~Make It Can Do
Does a spiritual habit of thinking “can do” more than I think “can’t do” increase my faith? When you get personal with God, it is all win-win. Not having a life-style of duteous doing, instead, being authentic and found in God, is imperative to having a growing faith. I desire a consistently increasing faith, which has the ability to “grow through” with God; instead of going through by willful pressing through; a scratching and clawing with all of my humanity, to get through by any means possible. Very exhausting. This kind of kindling of human passion, where you walk by the light of a man-made fire, always flames out in failure. Faithfulness to a vital-vertical relationship with God, in followship of His Holy Spirit, leads to successful, active-faith increase.
SAY YES To A Positive Thought Life
Did you see a glass half full or a glass half empty? A negative thought life in play will premier doubt. The worldly viewpoint of doubt trumps faith, so we end up leaning into the presupposition of “If you can” instead of the truth God spoke: “I can do all things”. A positive thought life in play, will premiere faith and lean you into God’s Kingdom Perspective. In followship of God’s Reality of Truth, we will lean into God’s Sovereign Sway and walk in the light of truth He provides.
Say NO To Negative Presumption
With God we can do all things and when we presume differently, that we don’t need God, we give up the helm of our ship to be navigated by doubt. Presumption is a lie, stepping out on this path is accompanied by the hard work of timbering your own fire and walking by the light of the man-made fire, kindled by asinine assumptions. This kind of fire flames out and leaves people sitting in a tormenting darkness. The “I can fix this” mentality of a human nature fleshed out totally, at no avail, leaves an exhausted despondency like no other. Change It Up.
I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty. Philippians 4:13 TPT
Give God Total Access
As I gave God total access to my mind, soul and spirit, I knew that God’s Holy Spirit would simply-significantly, change things up in my spiritual core. When my inner core becomes stronger, propped up by His Unshakeable Word, God knows I can fight those crazy doubts that come in like a flood in the midst of long drawn out spiritual warfare. I needed to change and I needed to establish a new spiritual habit of leaning more into the “Can Do” of God’s Sovereign Sway, before stepping out and being tossed to and fro, in the squall of my worldly viewpoint, the “Can’t do”. God was challenging me to change things up from the inside out, to work a positive spiritual attitude into my salvation experience, my mind, will, emotions and spirit. I Can Do All Things As God Strengthens Me, As I Stay In Followship Of His Way, Truth And Life.
“A Positive “Can Do” Thought Life Will Premiere A Strong Faith.” KimberlyMac
Thanks for stopping in the Author Table, for a personal meal prepared from me to you. I highly encourage you to purchase a copy of my book: The Bridegroom’s Voice. You will definitely increase your faith as you listen up to God’s Voice and Journey with Jesus, The Bridegroom, through His Word. Your vital-vertical relationship will be strong, your ears will clearly learn to hear God’s Voice. It is a Change It Up book and you will be transformed in that way only God can.
Purchase The Bridegroom’s Voice
