Obsessed by Unbelief

(The post I mentioned yesterday - you know, the one for friends and spouses of women who struggle with anger - is gonna have to wait 'til Monday. Something came up and I had to get it out today!)

In my life, I have noticed a direct link between worry and prayer. I believe it's referred to as an inverse relationship. That is, when I am filled with worry over something, chances are good that I haven't been praying about it very much.

I have spent many mornings this month confessing my worry to the Lord and asking Him to replace my fretting thoughts with the peace and truth of His Word. But not until this very moment did it occur to me what is really going on...

First, all the while I've been calling it "worry" or "fear" or "fretting." The plain truth is that what I am allowing to go on in my mind is nothing short of unbelief. I am not believing that:
- God is who He says He is, and
- God can do what He says He can do. *
I have allowed my heart and mind to slip away from, what I believe, are the foundational truths of my faith.

Second, I have become obsessed. "What we allow our minds to dwell on, there our hearts will be also." (I feel as though that should be in quotes, because I'm certain they're not my words. But for the life of me I cannot recall who said them or where they might be in the Bible. Feel free to fill in the blank.) My thoughts have been so focused on this one "problem" that it has become this thing that I am constantly thinking about. I wish that I were as obsessed with God as I have become over this small issue. Imagine if all I could think about all the time were God and His Word!

Third, (and I don't know why it has taken several weeks for this to occur to me) this is a spiritual battle. Given all the God-sized plans we see in our family's future (missions trip, speaking to women, new church connections, and more), I guess it's not surprising that the enemy would try to come at us. But if I know anything about spiritual warfare, it's this - victory is ours! All that we need to do is claim the authority we have been given in Christ and the enemy will be utterly defeated!

While this post was written mostly for my own benefit (first I live it, then I write it, then I process it), I will say that your prayers for our family would not go to waste. Thanks for listening, friends.

Can I pray for you? If there is anything I can pray for you about, please let me know (either in the comments or via email). It would be an honour to lift up your needs before the Lord. And goodness knows I need to get my heart and mind focused on something other than myself! Sheesh!

* From Beth Moore's "Believing God." (If you've never done this study, you should! Foundational, faith-growing, life changing.)