The Shame of Weakness

A Word for Wednesday

In Revelation 3, the Lord addresses the church in Laodicea and reminds them that they are not as rich or as strong or as privileged as they think they are. Instead, they are in great need. They are poor and wretched, according to the Lord. The reason was that they were depending on themselves and their own strength rather than on Jesus.

I know that many people feel shame when they think of their weakness. I know that many preachers use that shame to humble their people and keep them in line. I know that abusers point to our weakness and evil ones lead us into temptation. Then they accuse us and shame us. But listen: there is no shame in weakness.

The world and the devil work on the flesh to cultivate weaknesses. You know what I mean. Bad habits. Wrong desires. Sinful thinking. We desire things we know will hurt us in the long run but bring us pleasure now. Then, we shame ourselves for our weakness.

Many believers, perhaps most, live in a cycle of desire, weakness, sin, and shame. They make new promises, accept new accountability, and then fall again. Many accept this cycle and their weakness as part of their inferiority. And they shame themselves.

Again: there is no shame in weakness.

Weakness is part of your flesh. On one hand, your flesh has been programmed to be weak in certain areas. On the other hand, the Lord never suggested that you would be able to succeed in your own strength—either before or after salvation.

Listen: what that means is that you are weak. He is the Strong One. You are not. You, apart from Him, are poor, weak, and wretched.

Now, be careful. I did not say that you are poor, weak, and wretched. I said you are such APART FROM HIM. But you are not apart from Him. Your flesh is apart from Him, not you. It is very important that you maintain a separation between your identity and your flesh. In Christ, you are strong and rich. However, since your flesh has not been and will not be redeemed, your flesh will always be weak.

Someone questioned my statement that our flesh has not been and will not be redeemed, but it is precisely the point the Lord is making when He separates the flesh and the spirit in us. When He tells us not to walk in the flesh, but to walk in the Spirit, He is reminding us that our flesh is part of this world. It is the way we learned to live apart from the Lord. It was programmed and cultivated in this world and by the values and concerns of this world. You will not deal with your flesh in glory.

What that means is that the real you, the one inseparably connected to Jesus, is as strong as He is…because He is your Strength. Your victory is always in Him.

Some people might challenge these ideas as excuses. Instead of telling people to blame the devil, I am suggesting that we should blame the flesh. But that is an explanation, not an excuse. We are called to leave the flesh behind even in this world. We are called to walk in, to live according to, the Spirit, rather than the flesh. Our understanding that weakness is part of our flesh should pull us to the strength of Jesus.

Yes, your flesh is weak. It sees something it desires and begins to make plans to get it. Your flesh remembers an offense and provides the negative emotions that build your adrenaline and feed your self-righteousness. Your flesh sees a concern and builds a fearsome scenario that causes you to protect yourself. This is what the flesh does and has always done.

You don’t have to live that way, but you will until you call it out. When you are able to acknowledge your weakness without shame and credit only your broken and unredeemed flesh, then you are free to look to Jesus and find His strength. The way to victory is not in trying harder, but in admitting that you feel this weakness and crying out to the One who loves you.

There is no shame in weakness. We are all weak. None of us can handle this life. Only Jesus can do that.

And He will do that for you. He will give you the strength to say no. He will give you the victory you can never find in yourself.

A Burden of Unforgiven Sin

A Word for Wednesday

I wonder if all of us have a certain sin or group of sins that we have real trouble believing God has forgiven. Usually something from the past, something that created a significant change in our lives. Perhaps the beginning of a sinful habit that continues to plague us. Perhaps a certain decision that changed everything.

You might know exactly what I am talking about. In fact, you might wish you could move past the memory and the effect of that sin. Why can’t you?

Once again, the voices (the world, the flesh, and the devil) continually remind us of what we did. We are told that our identity came in that moment, in that decision. The world holds us there because we fit into a category and carry a label that makes sense. In other words, you may be labeled by your sin. Even the church (yes, part of the world) seems to make you wear a mark for others to use. The divorced person, the person who has struggled with substance abuse, the person who has been incarcerated—they know. It’s like a scarlet letter that you are forced to carry.

And that’s just the world. The devil, and his workers, want to use that memory, that label, to manipulate and control you. Your failure at one point in your life becomes your liability for the rest of your life. I remember being told never to put a certain two people on the same committee in the church because many years before they had an affair. Now in their 80s, they were hardly interested in each other, but that didn’t matter. They carried their labels and suffered the manipulation of their hearts.

That’s what the flesh becomes used to. It may seem strange, but the flesh accepts shame and condemnation partly because it uses the limitations as an excuse for poor performance. We tell ourselves we struggle because of what happened in the past. I suspect that our flesh converts bad feelings into some types of affirmation, perhaps some type of dopamine or other chemical that becomes almost addicting. This is why we seem to replay embarrassing or hurtful experiences so often. There is a desire in the flesh to scratch the scab, so to speak. I also suspect that our flesh uses these painful memories to explain other pain that comes. I hurt now because of what I did before, for example. Whatever the reason, it is very difficult for our flesh to let go of our sins.

And this is what the narcissist and abuser and legalist use against us. As they remind us of our past, the voices chime in their own condemnation. Using the power of these voices, the manipulators control what we think of ourselves. They weaken our hearts and spirits for their own purposes.

Unforgiven sin. What is that for a Christian? What sins are unforgiven? The big ones, whatever they may be? The recent ones? The ones the manipulators find useful? And how did these particular sins escape the love of God in Jesus? Did we forget to name them at the proper time? Are they actually unforgiveable? What makes them different?

You see, if some sins are not forgiven in your life, then none of your sins are forgiven. The work of Jesus was complete or it was nothing. You died to your sin, to the whole package. Not just the individual sins, but the consequence and condemnation and shame of your sinfulness. No longer is sin in authority over you, either in power or in culpability. In other words, Jesus took you completely out of the realm of sin. You were washed. You were forgiven. Completely.

It is not possible for one of your sins to slip under God’s radar and still bring you condemnation. There is no unforgiven sin in your life, not even the one you just did. Even if you haven’t confessed it yet. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from ALL sin.

Release the burden and help others release their burdens. Why carry around something that is no longer part of you and can no longer lay claim to your soul? That sin has been washed with the blood, and God no longer sees it on your account. No matter what others say (the world), no matter what the devil whispers, and no matter what shame your own flesh tries to lay on you—you can no longer hold onto that sin. It is gone.

Fear of God’s Disfavor

A Word for Wednesday

One of the most surprising things I discovered in ministry was how many people would come to me to confess their sin. Now, I have never been in the role of a priest who hears confession and grants absolution. That’s not my tradition nor is it my doctrine. But it has happened so many times that I came to expect to know secrets.

I wondered why people would want to do this. Some of them came almost as soon as I came to the church. It seemed important to them to “air their dirty laundry,” so to speak.. As time went on, I began to understand.

Their goal was not so much forgiveness, but acceptance. They needed to know they were still welcome once the truth was known. It was almost a test to see if not only I, but God rejected them.

And the manipulators, narcissists, and abusers know that those who fear God’s disfavor are vulnerable. They know how to twist and control. If they can create anxiety or fear in the hearts of their victims, they can dominate them.

Many people live in uncertainty, or lack of assurance, because they live in fear of God’s disfavor. Preachers pull out verses that say no one who does such or such can inherit the kingdom. Abusers accuse victims of being unworthy. The religious system focuses on sin rather than the Savior.

But our God loves us! He loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. In some amazing way, God became flesh to pay a price that would wash away our sins. Wash away, not just cover…not just hide until some future revelation. And not just the sins of the past but all our sins.

I don’t understand the love of God that keeps forgiving me. I don’t understand why He loves me at all. But I know He does because He tells me that throughout the Scriptures. He tells me that’s why He paid such an awful price.

What will separate me from the love of God? Nothing. Nothing in this world. Nothing in any other world. Nothing that I do. Nothing. God continues to love me even though I do things that show my lack of love for myself and for others. I cannot fall from His favor.

To be clear, I might miss blessings because of the wrong decisions I make, especially the sinful ones. I might go through tough times because of those decisions or practices. But I will never fall from His favor. He loves me.

You see, the very life in me is the life of Jesus. I have no other life, no other hope. All my eggs are in that one basket. All my investments are in Him. All the promises are from Him. I died, and the life I live today is the life of Jesus in me. I am still me, but alive only in Jesus.

So, nothing can change that now. Now, it isn’t up to me to keep myself in His favor. Even if He sees fit to discipline me or withhold something He would have given me, it will be because of that favor, that love.

And the day will come when I will see that all my sins have truly been washed away. They will no longer even be memories. As far as the east is from the west, my sins will be sent away, along with the guilt, the shame, the condemnation. As my flesh dies with the rest of this world, I will be free.

I know that many people have been taught to fear the loss of God’s favor. Teach them and yourself the truth of God’s amazing love!

To Be A Christian

A Word for Wednesday

Several events, news stories, and internet topics have come together in recent weeks to move my thinking toward what it really means to be a Christian. Much of the manipulation and deception that happens in the church centers around wrong ideas. The legalist teacher/preacher keeps his listeners confused about the truth of Christian identity. The “Christian” narcissist would have you believe he/she has some kind of access to or arrangement with God that you do not. By twisting the truth, these people keep their advantage and control.

And their victims suffer from lack of knowledge, as the Scripture says. Without assurance and understanding of truth, even true believers can be misled and discouraged by the lies.

Next year I will mark 50 years of pastoral ministry. Although I do not usually think of myself as a counselor, I have certainly talked with a lot of people about their marriages and their faith. I would suggest that the great majority of those I have counseled have struggled with assurance and victory. Most have confessed their sins in fear and anxiety. Most have found the love of God to be uncertain or even distant in their lives. And their doubt comes out of misunderstanding. Poor teaching seems to be the norm in the church today.

Many years ago I studied and taught in a program called “Evangelism Explosion.” It came from the ministry of Dr. D. James Kennedy in Florida and was a way to train people to share the gospel. The presentation centered around two questions: If you were to die today, do you know that you would go to Heaven? And, if you did die and were asked at the gate of Heaven why you should be allowed to go in, what would you say?

Now, we were taught that people who couldn’t answer those questions were almost certainly not Christians. Any fumbling doubts or attempts at bargaining would be evidence that the person didn’t understand what Jesus had done for them. While I find it hard to disagree with that assertion, I am deeply concerned that those doubts and attempts to bargain would be found throughout the church today.

And those doubts allow the manipulators and abusers to define our faith their way. If we don’t know enough to stand up for the truth about Jesus and His work in our own lives, then we are open to compromise and fear.

The narcissist will never let you forget your sin. He will use it, refer to it, as he pressures you into submission. The legalist will continually bring up new sins to charge you with, never content with any amount of repentance and change. For the manipulator, you must never be good enough, always be fearful, and live in expectation of rejection and judgment. They are the only real Christians, they want you to think. They actually put themselves in the place of God.

But no believer should allow a person other than Jesus to have that place. The only right Judge is Jesus…and He loves you and forgives you. This is what the believer must accept and live.

Only in Him

A Word for Wednesday

“Name it and claim it!” “Speak your best life into being.” “Agree with what you want to be true and it will become true.”

Grace teachers are accused of giving people false hope. Some say that grace teaching falls short because it doesn’t require the performance the Bible requires. Repentance and change, they say, are the key to everything believers are promised. Obedience and duty and service and consistency are required, they say. People will not become what we say or have what we say unless they pay the price.

They are wrong. The hope of the gospel is not false hope. Nor is it found in performance and obedience. It is found in Jesus. He has done the work. He has paid the price.

But some teachers who claim grace as their message do forget the one requirement: JESUS!

The life and freedom and joy offered by the message of grace is only found in Jesus. Only those who have come to Him in faith will exchange their life for the one He offers. And only those who have the life of Jesus will have the victory and forgiveness He offers.

You see, Christians are not people who have had a change of thinking. We have had a change of life. Our life-source is different. Not updated or fixed, but actually replaced. The old life in which we placed our hope is gone. The new life in us is Him. Eternal life doesn’t just mean living forever; it means living in Him. Because He is our Life, we share in His eternal life.

So, when I write about the things Christians have in Jesus I mean that those things are only in Jesus. They are not available to everyone apart from Him. No unbeliever can have them. No one who has not come to Jesus in faith has this new life. You have to be a Christian.

There are people who seem to forget this. They offer the blessings of the Christian life without the one requirement. It is not obedience or service. It is not church membership or duty. It is not avoidance of sin or abundance of good works. It is Jesus.

Jesus is a real Person who loves you. He came to offer Himself because of that love. He rose from the dead to call you to Himself. And, when you come to Him to exchange the life you think you have for the life He offers, He makes you a new creation. Only then are you forgiven and set free from sin. Only then do you have a future and hope in glory. Only then are you a Christian.

It sometimes feels like the message of grace is challenged from every side. There are those who want people to do enough of what they think is important in order to be saved. Then there are those who think all people somehow receive the blessings of the cross. But the message of grace doesn’t sell the gospel short on either side. It is focused on Jesus. He alone is the “Author and Finisher” of our faith and our life.

Only Jesus. He alone is our Hope and Strength.

Relax

A Word For Wednesday

“To have it all, you have to pay the price!” I remember Zig Ziglar challenging that way of thinking. He didn’t think it was wise to tell people to focus on the price, especially if you were trying to motivate them. Instead, he said we should focus on the benefits. Losing weight is not a process of diet and exercise and paying the price. It is a process of living healthier and lighter. Learning a skill is not a process of hard study and long hours, but a process of growing and becoming more available for opportunity. No wonder people loved to listen to him!

This way of thinking is even more important in the Christian life. It is not that we achieve the things Jesus promises us by paying the price but that we enjoy the benefits of what He has already given to us. In Him, we already have it all. We just don’t understand the reality of who we are or Who He is yet.

So, if Jesus says that His sheep know His voice, then we do know His voice. We discern it and hear it above the rest of the voices. That is true for us even if it doesn’t seem like it.

I suspect that the key to hearing His voice is to relax. None of the other voices tell us to relax and trust in Jesus. They all call us to activity and worry and stress. Instead, we are called to rest in Jesus.

This will seem too simple for anyone who is driven by fear and guilt, but I offer it to those who are free from guilt and have no reason to fear. All who are in Jesus. Relax. Trust that He will get His message to you. Listen to what He has already told you and believe Him. He loves you. You are forgiven. You will not be judged according to your performance. Your future hope is secure in Him. These are all things He has already said.

When a person who is not used to speaking in front of a group is confronted with a microphone, they will often say that they don’t need one. They believe they will speak clearly and loudly without it. I have to tell them that the microphone is not for them, but for their listeners. Some people have trouble hearing. It has nothing to do with your speaking, but with their hearing. They need the microphone.

You see, the burden of delivering a message is on the person who is speaking (or writing). If your message is important enough for you to deliver it, then you are tasked with delivering it in the best way in which it can be heard. You don’t whisper to your neighbors that their house is on fire. You shout. You make yourself obnoxious and insistent. If you want someone to know you love them, you can’t do it in a mean or uncaring way.

God wants you to hear Him. He wants you to follow His leading. And the burden of His message is on Him. We do not find listening easy. He will find ways to lead us and get His message through.

So, relax. Very often, I come to the Lord in prayer and confess my density. I ask Him to break through the distractions and the dullness of my mind so that I hear. Then I realize that even that is not really necessary. I yield my heart to Him and ask Him to move me to follow Him. I don’t have to understand, but I do want to follow. So, I ask Him to move me in the right path. Then, I trust Him.

As I was writing this post, for example, I suddenly lost it all. The post, which was almost finished, simply disappeared. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get it back. I’ve used a computer for writing for 42 years. That happens rarely, but it does happen. When it does, I have tried to remember to thank Him and begin again. Maybe I wrote something I should not have. Maybe a different message was needed. Rather than complain and feel loss, I have usually been able to accept that as His leading.

Failure, interruption, distraction. All these uncomfortable things may be leading from the Lord. Trust Him. Let Him lead you. You don’t need words. You don’t need understanding and reason. You just need Him. And He is with you.

Lord, Speak to Me

A Word for Wednesday

Ask.

“You have not because you ask not.” That’s what Jesus said. If you want to hear His voice, to receive His leading, then ask.

Last week, a good question was asked: “What if I can’t hear His voice?” There are those times, right? In fact, there are a lot of those times.

My mom and I had an agreement that I would be home when she came to the end. She would tell me, and I would come. She did, and I did. I sat by her bed in the hospital barely knowing that she knew I was there. I could talk with her, but she didn’t answer. Until I told her I loved her. She said, and these were her last words to me, “I love you too.”

There is a difference between someone talking and someone hearing. There are times in our lives when we just can’t hear. We are barely hanging on. The distractions are too great. The emotions are too loud. The struggle is almost overwhelming. That “still, small voice” seems to be silent.

We want assurance. We want guidance. We want words of comfort. But sometimes all we get is silence. David understood. Even Jesus understood. That doesn’t mean the Lord has abandoned us or is ignoring us. It means we simply can’t hear right now.

So, ask Him to speak a word of love. It might be a thought, a word from a friend, a simple “coincidence,” or an outright miracle. But He will give you something. Something will break through, a tiny ray of light or a memory of music, something to let you know the Lord is with you in your struggle. He is not far away. He is with you.

When you ask, don’t demand the whole list of answers you want. Don’t expect some commendation for your hard work. Don’t expect detailed explanations for what you are going through. Chances are that you won’t be able to understand the information you receive anyway. You don’t need answers, you just need presence. Just listen for a small word of love. That will be enough. You will know that you are not alone.

The Lord is with you. That’s His promise. Accept any small whisper of love that gets through the craziness.

I have been with many people as they neared the end of their earthly lives. So often, just holding hands is all the communication of love they hear. They just want to know that they are not alone, that someone cares.

And, really, that’s all we need. Just to know that Jesus is with us. Just to know that we are not alone. A gentle squeeze on our hand, a whispered word of love, a glimpse of beauty. If we are willing to accept these things, we can know that He is with us.

The Master’s Voice

A Word for Wednesday

I want to hear my Master’s voice and listen only to Him.

I am confident that you would join me in that desire. We have been considering the various voices that speak into our hearts and minds. I don’t want to listen to the evil one. I don’t want to follow the world. I don’t want to be manipulated by the desires of my flesh. I just want to hear my Lord.

In times of confusion and uncertainty, in times like today, we need the assurance and comfort that come from knowing the Master’s voice. Let me suggest a few things that might help.

First, what has the Master said? His voice today will be consistent with His voice in the past. What He warns us against and desires for us will be the same as it has been. The world changes, and our flesh is not to be trusted, but the Lord remains the same. His concern for us is the same “yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” Knowing the truth of what He says about us is important. When He says that He loves us, that He has accepted us, that He welcomes us with joy into His presence, we can believe that. Nor do His feelings toward us change when we do something stupid or sinful.

So, ask yourself: Is this what Jesus has said before? Did His “everlasting love” stop? Is He still concerned about the effect of sin in our lives? Did He suddenly or even gradually change His mind?

Second, His voice is always one of love for His people. Always. Always. Yes, I know there are preachers who would challenge that. They suggest that sin will make Jesus stop loving us, that we might still be saved (maybe) but we better prepare for an angry scolding. They are wrong. They think that message is the only way to keep you from sin. They are wrong. No believer should ever be made to think they have been separated from the Lord’s love by their actions. It will be love that draws us back to Him.

You are the “apple of His eye.” You are the “pearl of great price.” You are His child, His beloved. That has not and will never change. You might suffer earthly consequences from your sin or the sin of others, but Jesus will be with you through it all. He will not let you go.

Finally, whenever the voices accuse or shame you, whenever they suggest something evil, ask yourself what kind of thinking that is. Someone used to talk about “stinkin’ thinkin.” Stinkin’ thinkin’ is when you call yourself names and belittle your value. Stinkin’ thinkin’ is when you dream about revenge or commiting sin. The voices lead to that kind of thinking. In that thinking, they can manipulate your heart.

Instead, affirm what you know the Savior thinks of you. Let His mind, His way of thinking, be yours. The future is always hopeful. The good is always in your day. Blessings abound for you. These are not just nice things to think; they are statements of truth. The Lord is always strong, always wise, and always good on your behalf. You can trust Him. And you can hear His voice when you allow His thoughts in your mind.

When the other voices tempt you to worry, remember the great love of God. Remember that Jesus loves your child, your grandchild, your spouse more than you do. Remember that His way is the good way. Remember that He walks with others on their paths just as He has walked with you.

It really isn’t that hard to hear the voice of the Master. We just need to look to Him and remember who He is. Every other voice will fade away.

Panic

A Word for Wednesday

According to one source, the Greek god Pan had a “stentorious” voice. That means it was loud and strong. We usually think of Pan as a musician, but he was also supposed to have had great power in his voice. It was terrifying. When Pan wanted, he could cause armies to run away from battle in great fear. He could make strong men tremble. He could cause, well, panic. (And, yes, that’s where the word comes from.)

The power of the voices in our lives can hardly be dismissed. They shout words of fear into our hearts with lies and suggestions and confusion. They whisper divisions between friends and family members. The world wants us to be afraid so it can offer its answers. The evil one wants us to look to his influences rather than our Lord’s. The flesh feeds on adrenaline and endorphines and dopamines that it produces by moving us to anger and fear. These voices do have power.

In the last post I wrote about waking at 3AM. How many times have you been awakened by a shout or loud noise in a dream or one that seemed to fit into a dream? Your child screams. Your spouse says your name. Your friend accuses you. Then, you wake up in a panic.

Of course, panic doesn’t always happen at night. Sometimes it builds slowly. The voice gets stronger and louder, especially as you think about the problem. Panic grows in your heart and mind.

Now, for the most part, I am not writing about “panic attacks.” Those are often the result of physical or chemical events in the body. Several illnesses and conditions can create feelings of panic, which are often interpreted by the sufferer as outside threats. Medications, diet, and other methods help people overcome this physically caused panic. If you experience what seems like a physical panic, you should talk with a good doctor.

But even in those times, the voices offer the problems for the mind. The hints and suggestions and whispers from the voices become shouts of despair and anxiety. Somewhere the idea of not having enough entered into our thinking, for example. That becomes a focus in times of panic. Whether in the middle of the night or at a time of physical weakness, our thoughts focus on finances. Sometimes it may be insecurity in a relationship. Sometimes the health issues become fearsome. The voices supply the focus.

And the opportunistic abusers know how to manipulate people who suffer from these thoughts and feelings. They feed on the weakness they sense when a certain topic comes up and work to make sure it comes up more. Panic causes vulnerability and, often, bad decisions. When we can look at those thoughts and feelings with the understanding that they are not our own, we may find the strength to avoid or step away from the abuser.

I am often impressed by the wisdom of the ancient peoples. They understood things about our feelings and thoughts. They knew enough about the fears we suffer to know that it is an outside voice that causes panic. Give the feeling the name of a god to show that it is not from us. In other words, those feelings come from the voices outside.

And, if the voice is outside and the feeling comes from outside, then we are free to reject them. I’m not suggesting that it will be easy, just that we do not own the panic nor are responsible for it.

I am not one to suggest that we should address the voices. That seems as though it would open us to easy manipulation. No, we should talk with Jesus. To Him, we can acknowledge that the voices are telling us things that cause fear and pain. Then we can ask Him to remove any power those voices have and give us comfort concerning whatever has come into our minds.

WCS Syndrome

A Word for Wednesday

I thought I made that up. WCS stands for “Worst Case Scenario.” I didn’t make it up, though. It is actually referred to as a syndrome online. It means “catastrophic thinking.” Ok, I’ve been there.

You know what I mean. Something happens and almost immediately your mind goes to the “what-ifs.” All kinds of ideas begin to roll in your head. Most of them are bad, maybe all of them. Some of them are outrageous, at least other people seem to think so. But, you know, what if?

Some people suggest that this catastrophic thinking is a learned response or even a genetic response to confusion, perhaps designed to prepare us for negative situations. Preparing ourselves for danger seems like a good thing.

Suppose you are driving and you see a car moving slowly on the shoulder in front of you. You begin to think about what might happen. This happens very quickly. If you panic and swerve away from the car on the shoulder, you might pull into the path of someone in the next lane. That would be a bad thing. If you just keep a little closer eye on the car on the shoulder in case it begins to move your way, and you look to see how you might avoid it if it should pull out into your lane, you might avoid trouble. Planning is different from worrying.

The 3AM worry time is so common in our culture that there are many theories to explain it. I’ve heard that it comes from normal sleep patterns, that it relates to high cortisol, and that the devil is awake and active at that time. Whatever causes us to wake in the middle of the night to begin to entertain disturbing thoughts, it seems to be almost universal. But I don’t see it as helpful.

One thing about that time period is that we are unable and/or unwilling to do anything about the problems our mind presents. We are too tired, the people we need are trying to sleep, our options are limited. So, we just stay in bed thinking. The more we think about the problem, the harder it is to get back to sleep. The harder it is to get back to sleep, the more we think about the problem. The what-ifs grow into unreasonable proportions. The catastrophic thinking seems to have no normal restraints. Monsters grow at 3AM.

I usually get up or read a while when that happens. I pray and give the problem to the Lord. I ask Him to show me what I need to do about it when I have the opportunity to do something. For the most part, that works for me. I know others write things down because writing them forces us to look at the monsters logically. Some get up and take a small dose of melatonin. Whatever works, I guess.

But where do those ideas come from? I certainly don’t want to think about them. I really don’t think the Lord has an interest in tormenting me in the middle of the night. Am I really that worried and just need to work things out when I can’t think of anything else? Probably not. No, I think something else is happening.

I read something interesting. An article suggested that waking up in the middle of the night was often caused by a sleep cycle coming near to a waking time, but the timing was not a normal time to get up. So, the disorientation that came from it still being dark and the silence of the night caused a moment of panic. That panic motivated us to look for the danger…and the voices provided one or more dangers for us to think about.

Panic, even the momentary impulse that comes from waking in the dark, seems to make us vulnerable to negative ideas that come from our past or the world around us. Then, because we are vulnerable and our normal defenses are compromised, our reasoning through on the problems becomes flawed. The monsters, which may not exist at all, become real and terrible. Small worries become large. Confusion becomes fear. Hurts become attacks.

In the light of day and reason, almost all of the problems we face at night either go away or shrink to a manageable size. We fear that we have forgotten something very important, but in the morning we check to see that we did it already. Or we realize we can still get it done without penalty. Or the penalty isn’t that bad. The harsh words that came our way, the criticisms that we felt, can be understood and mediated in the light.

The voice that brings you the fearsome and unsolvable problem in the middle of the night is not the voice of the Spirit. Yes, there are rare times when the Spirit might move you in a dream, but that is both rare and positive. And the visions that the Scriptures talk about are almost always during times of intense prayer, not sleep. The Spirit is not a tormentor.

So, that’s an important clue that should help us deal with these catastrophic thoughts. Are they from the Lord? If not, then we should step back from them. The panic that grows in us is not a helpful response to the problem. Instead, we must take these things to the Lord. He relieves our burdens, comforts our souls, walks with us through our troubles, and delivers us from danger. All of these are promises.