The Voices Inside My Head

I’m exhausted. My family and I just got back from a 3,000 mile round-trip excursion to Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, back to Tennessee, then Missouri, back to Arkansas, then finally back to Texas. We got to see family and friends we haven’t gotten to see in a while. We got to visit with a couple of my former students – one of whom got back in January from Afghanistan. I also got to go to a marvelous Youth Ministry Conference while in Louisville. It was a time of refreshing as I gathered with 3,000 other youth ministers from around the country to get refueled for ministry.

As I was there breathing out the stressors and worries of life and breathing in the words of God I recognized just how many voices speak into our lives.

What voices speak to you each day? Someone this weekend said that the four hardest jobs in the world are politicians, coaches, teachers, and ministers. They are the jobs where everyone else thinks they can do a better job than you can, and they frequently tell you so in no uncertain terms. What voices speak to you?

Maybe your voices come from outside influences. Maybe your family tells you something about yourself. Maybe it’s your friends or co-workers. Maybe it’s media that are significant sources of the voices that convince you of certain “truths” about yourself and the world around you.

I heard a news piece just last night talking about how even the continual images of the “perfect” women in all the visible roles in media influence our young women to think that they must also look that way. There was one story of the little girl in the beauty pageant, and when she didn’t win, she asked her mom “does this mean I’m not pretty?”

These outside voices can be brutal. Perhaps they tell you that you aren’t pretty enough or smart enough or that you don’t work hard enough. Maybe they tell you that you don’t fit in.

These voices, however, are not as potent as the voices in our own heads. I’m not talking about the schizophrenic voices where we talk to ourselves out loud. I’m talking about the subtle whispers in our minds that try to define us.

“You’re a failure as a mother or father.” “You may as well give up.” “No one really cares about you.” “You have nothing of value to contribute to society.” “You’ll never be the spouse you need to be.” “It’s ok if you do that; no one will be affected by your actions.”

As we go on in our lives these voices can easily morph from whispers to shouts as we feed in to their influence on our lives. When we start believing these things they cripple our ability for forward momentum.

I’ve seen the skits where a person stands in front of the mirror and says out loud to him or herself “Because I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!” In every skit they say it with enthusiasm, but their eyes reveal the truth that they don’t really believe what they are saying.

Many of these voices keep the dark places of our lives close by so that we don’t allow God to take over those places and eradicate the darkness. The voices keep us captive. They cripple us in our potential.

God is desperately desiring to speak a different message into your life. He wants to remind you that you are His MASTERPIECE (Ephesians 2:10). He wants you to know that when you listen to Him he will help you have the best life possible (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28). He wants you to know that you are totally worth it.

Worth what? Worth His sacrifice on the cross. God thought and still thinks that you are totally worth sacrificing Himself so that you can live eternally with Him.

We listen to these voices because we desperately want to be accepted and liked by society around us. We are constantly trying to impress the world – the created world – while the whole time the God who created that world, the Master of all existence, is trying to tell us that we are His favorite, and he already likes us. He even loves us. I once heard Jon Acuff say that “God follows our Facebook, and he likes, likes, likes!”

That’s pretty good news isn’t it? Let me challenge you. Spend more time listening to what God says about you in His word than what society said about you or even than what Satan whispers in your head. If you do this it will be much easier to combat those voices. I propose that you will even have a much brighter outlook on life. “You are more than a conqueror through Christ.” “You have been given a spirit of power, love, and self discipline.” “God will never leave you nor forsake you.” These and so many other promises are found in scripture. And when we read these promises, we also need to remember that God cannot lie.

You are awesome! God made you the way you are, and he doesn’t make junk. Satan has been trying to remold you into his likeness since you were born. It’s time to allow God to reshape you back into the masterpiece he created you to be. That reshaping can only happen when we let the voice of God be more influential than the voices of this world.

I’m on this journey with you. External voices are constantly trying to tear me down. Join with me in becoming more dependent on the voice of God than the voices of all the “haters” – even the ones inside our heads. And may our lives change for the greater because of it.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, feel free to call me at 245-1611 or via email at jddobbs@verizon.net. God bless you!

Fixing a Flat the Wrong Way

I was angry today.  Very angry.

I went to the tire center at Walmart.

That sentence kind of explains it all, right? I got there around one in the afternoon and didn’t leave until after four.  I went in to get my tire fixed.  The attendant there came back after an hour and told me that my tire had dry rot, and he was not willing to risk airing it back up again for fear it would explode on him.  My only option was to get a new tire.

I never only buy one tire, so I asked him the prices of the tires, and he assured me that there was enough tread on the tire to get a pro-rated charge on the new tires.  I finally agreed to two new tires and began my waiting process again.

At 3:15 my car was finally outside, but they hadn’t called me.  I went up to the counter and asked if it was ready, and they showed me the sheet of what had been done.  The charges were almost one hundred dollars more than I was told to expect.  I was not prepared to pay that kind of money today.  I went in expecting to get a free flat repair and ended up with an over two-hundred dollar bill.

I was not happy.  They had not pro-rated the tires, and this whole idea of my tires being dry rotted did not set well with me.  My wife had gotten the tires checked just last week by the dealership, and they said the tires were fine.  Tires don’t get dry rot in five days.

They decided to call the manager.  At about four o’clock she finally showed up, and I explained my dilemma.  Fifteen minutes later she finally decided what to do.

I want to stop there for a minute.

Did I have reason to be angry?  I had been there three hours for what was supposed to be a flat repair. My expectations were shattered.  I had been given false information and over-charged for services rendered.  I felt like I had every reason to be angry.

In the process of this, though, there are so many things to consider.  First, what was my conduct like?  Did I keep my head or lose it?  Am I showing them love even when I’m angry?  Is it possible to show love when angry?  What would Jesus do (the old cliche fallback)? Why was this all happening to me?

I don’t like being angry.  It doesn’t make me feel good, and it doesn’t help those around me either.  Nevertheless, I find myself at various times caught in the trap of selfishness where I am consumed with myself and become angry.

The bible doesn’t say that anger is a sin.  It is what we do with that anger that is the sin – or not.  If I had started throwing a temper tantrum, then that would definitely be in the sin range.  Fortunately, I didn’t go there today. Had I become hateful or rude beyond normal explanation of my side of the argument that would have been over the top.  If, however, I can control my tongue (and the rest of my body) when I’m angry then I can be angry and not sin.

This is what we are called to do.  Jesus never asked us to not become angry.  He asks us to not sin when we become angry.  Let me tell you, it’s not always easy to do.

Back to my story.  The manager showed up and found out both sides of the story.  It turned out that the guy that gave me all the quotes is the newest member of their team.  He gave me bogus information.  The tire wasn’t dry rotted, but it was in need of replacement.  The manager overrode the price, and she gave me a hefty discount to ease my mind.

As I look back at the events of today, I can’t help but see how God worked in this situation to make all things work out for my good.  I got two new tires (which I needed) for much less than even had originally been quoted to me because of the fiasco surrounding this situation.  I didn’t really need to be spending that money today, and God helped me out financially.  I just had to persevere through the rough time to see the benefit.

I still don’t like going to the tire shop at Walmart, but I am grateful for that manager.  I am grateful that God helped me keep my cool today.  I am grateful that He worked this out for my good (Romans 8:28).

If you’re going through a rough time where you constantly feel angry about your situation, pray to God for new perspective.  May He show you the good that is being done all around you FOR you.  And may you not sin in your anger but be a shining example of Christ to those around you.  We aren’t perfect, but thank God that through Jesus we’re forgiven.

If there’s anything I can do for you or pray with you about, feel free to contact me at 245-1611 or via email at jddobbs@verizon.net.  God bless you!