Nothing Else

“But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on EVERY word He said” (Luke 19:48).

It is embarrassing all the crazy thoughts that run through my head on any given day: the temptations, the self doubt, the entitlement, the pity parties, the comparison, the frustration over my own lack of discipline…especially when it comes to sugar. I LOVE sugar and yet God has made it pretty clear that “it is the death of me.” Those are strong words, and yet I cannot deny that He said them to me. I digress.

Each season of my life I can identify specific thoughts that have dominated my thinking. Things I have obsessed over. Oh, how I feel for all those who were close to me in those early seasons. They endured countless hours of me processing my unmet desires and articulating my worst fears. I suppose when we are young, we just vomit out everything we are feeling and thinking without thought of how we might come across or even what those around us might be struggling with themselves. Though not true for everyone, I processed everything out loud. I think I did it to help release some of the thoughts I had racing though my head:

• Was I ever going to get married?
• What had God built ME to do?
• Who was I going to marry?
• When would I get married?
• What were my gifts?
• Why don’t I have a “best friend”? 
• Why did I eat all those cookies?
• Why can’t I sing like her?
• Why don’t boys like me?
• Why wasn’t I invited?
• What was I supposed to do with my life?
• Why do I feel so alone?
• When will I be affirmed for my abilities?

Can you relate to any of those? Such fear and anxiety – all brought on by the lies of the enemy being whispered subtly in the midst of my circumstances. “He comes to kill, steal & destroy” (John 10:10). Oh, when I think about the time lost and the moments stolen. It’s infuriating.

I remember getting ready for work one morning when I lived in Washington State. I was serving on staff at a local church, having years earlier earned a masters degree in Religious Education. You’d think I would have had this Jesus stuff all figured out by then. Not so much. I knew Him & I knew my Bible, but my head still wrestled to find rest. I spent a lot of time processing through anxious thoughts and fighting to find inner peace. While blow-drying my hair that morning; feeling overwhelmed by some anxious thought, I felt nudged to say out loud, “It doesn’t matter, God’s got it.” I must have said that 20 times that morning.

It was that day, that I began a process of LEARNING to surrender all my anxious thoughts to God. I said that phrase over and over for months. Each time believing it more and more. And what happened was; the absence of those anxious thoughts gave way to me hearing what God was saying to me. As I read my Bible, things started jumping off the page. Things I’d known since I was a kid now seemed to come to life in a fresh new way. It was as if I was reading them for the first time. I grew to love my Bible. It became and still is a source of life for me. The truths within it were so powerful and the God who wrote it became my best friend.

I learned how to hear God’s Spirit through reading His Word. It has this crazy power to silence chaos, push back the darkness, and feed the deepest part of our souls.

But they could think of NOTHING, because all the people hung on EVERY word He said. That’s what it says in Luke when describing the enemies of Jesus as they attempted to trap him and kill him. They could find nothing. The enemy of our souls has no power over us when we are listening intently to the voice of Jesus.

Oh, that we could think of nothing else because we are so fixated on what Jesus is saying. No anxiety. No “How are we going to pay our bills?” No “What if things never change?” No “I am not good enough.” No “How am I ever going to lose this weight?” No “I feel so alone.” No “I just need a fix.” No “I need to figure this out.” No “What if I fail?”

Nothing else.

In the Meanwhile…

Jesus, help us to surrender our thoughts to you. Every one of them. May we learn what it means to take captive every thought to make it obedient to you. (2 Corinthians 10:5). Open up our ears to hear what you are saying to us and help us purpose to spend time with you. May we experience the life-giving power of hanging on your every word.