There’s a whole lotta thinking going on in December during the Christmas season and especially this week during the celebrations announcing the arrival of a new year. That makes this a PERFECT time to conduct our year-end FAITH INVENTORY. To run our own thinking through God’s filter. To find out what he thinks about our thinking.
Our hearts are clearly being overstimulated with an unprecedented barrage of inputs and noise that can create a SPIRITUAL FUNK when we:
- View a PELOTON AD with an already-fit and “happy” user.
- Watch someone else SUCCEED and become flushed with envy.
- Hear a CRITICAL comment from one of our closest friends.
- See a healthy and happy marriage and wish we had one, too.
Even the deepest and sturdiest faith falls prey to this kind of SPIRITUAL FUNK. And it’s difficult to interrupt once the torrent of torment begins raining on your parade. Unless, of course, we turn to God.
We cannot click on HAPPY and make the SPIRITUAL FUNK go away with our own power. We cannot hit delete on our angst and send it to the recycle graveyard with our own power. But we can and must surrender to Christ and commit our SPIRITUAL FUNK to him through steadfast prayer.
Even though SPIRITUAL FUNKS are going to periodically come into our viewfinder, we still must ask God to help us fight back so they show up less…leave earlier…and do less damage.
Here’s my three-step plan to meet any SPIRITUAL FUNK that shows up in 2022: 1) Identify my anxiety IMMEDIATELY and pair it with a truth from God’s Word; 2) Meditate on that truth; and 3) Call on that truth over and over until the FUNK starts to break down and depart.
We walk out on a precarious perch when we THINK too much about everything in a futile attempt to control our emotions and our thinking and our mood and our joy.
That’s when we need to ask God to quiet the self-saboteur inside our head. And there is no better way than digging into the book of Psalms which was written by overthinkers in the clutches of a threat or danger or emotional crisis. We can gain strength from how they turned their angst toward worshipping God.
“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, your consolations delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19
I ask God to send me his Word of truth the next time I fall into the overthinking trap. To help me let go of that overthinking and surrender it to him. To give me the strength to trust his perfect control.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
How will you reduce overthinking your faith in 2022?
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
