This past week I am going to be honest with everyone I have been struggling some with what is going on right now. The devil knows how and what to try to get at me with to get me down in my life. Since I was a kid I have battled with my thought life. Since I was a child I have had some things people have told me in the past that are really hurtful thoughts to me and there are times where I would rise above this through Christ! Other times I have allowed what the devil has put into my head and actually believed what is obviously not from God to consume me in my mind! That's wrong and this is CRAP!! Why would someone believe in this junk that is obviously not from God? We live in a hurting world and we sometimes let our past dictate for the moment who we are as a person. At times we can also let our circumstances at the current moment dicate our thought patterns and not give our thought life over towards God.
I was called to the World Race by God in April after He was tugging at my heart for a few months about going on the Race. I was like God called this broken person who He has redeemed by His blood on the cross for His sins and all his junk in my life awesome!! Shortly after I was accepted to the World Race I was excited for this opportunity and what God is going to do in my life through The World Race! Great!
At first when I was telling people about The World Race I thought to myself most of the people I know are going to be excited for me and tell me this is an awesome opportunity for me and so on. I thought most people who I know or are friends with me would be like Blake is a likeable person, He lives for Jesus and has a servant's heart for Him, he's a good guy all around. When I started telling people about the World Race a few people were happy for me but most people were netural towards me. I was okay God why are these people who I know and some are friends with me aren't having a big vocal reaction towards me about this missions opportunity God has allowed me to go on for 11 months! Why aren't you giving me either a big excited reaction towards me or a bad reaction towards this calling God has called me to do in my life! Some people were giving me slience and I was like WHAT!! REALLY!! I rather get cussed out for taking a stand for Christ! I hate SILENCE GOD!!
Then, after I said I hate silence to God I was like oh no did I stick my foot in my mouth again by what I said out loud towards God? The worst thing is the devil heard what I said out loud. I was like God saying, "Okay Blake I get what your saying totally, you don't like silence, you want vocal reactions from people. If they cuss in your face, you feel like you can tell them this is from God and I don't care what you think about this calling. Move on. If they give you a happy reaction towards this calling your like this is awesome!! Blake, "How you going to react when others around you are silent towards this calling I have for you?" Most of the time when God allows you to go through things you hate, this is for building character and to see who you really trust fully in life God or People?
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 from NIV84 says," So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except for what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." God is like okay Blake what are you going to do when others are silent towards this calling and when bad thoughts come into your head? Are you going to give them over to me or are you going to let what others think of you dictate your reactions towards circumstances?
During this World Race process some thoughts were coming into my head and they were obviously not from God but from the enemy. When God calls us to do something big for Him it's great but the devil really hates Christians!! I have a big bull's eye on my back because Satan can never have me again because I belong to Jesus!! Some of the thoughts going into my head were:
- Blake, most people around you in Charlotte you know some of them are supporting you, but not in the way you like to be supported so they may not like you.
- The more silence you get the more people hate you!
- You not getting texts and phone calls from others close to you, these people don't like you at all.
- Sometimes you get left out of other's social life because you stand up for Jesus no matter what and that's not cool in 2012!
- Your not being invited by others to go and hang out with them, getting random calls or texts from them they obviously hate you!
- In your World Race group you just have average talents, your really not that great.
I felt like because others were not asking me to hang out with them or talking to me I wasn't really liked at all!I was not taking giving these negative thoughts over to God! In fact, I was letting circumstances at times dictate how I reacted to situations in my life. I started getting angry at times because others were not supporting me in the way I thought I should be supported.
Any thought that is not from God is from the devil and is CRAP!! CRAPPY THOUGHTS GET OUT NOW!!
Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church in South Carolina said this in a sermon one time I was listening to, "When a thought comes into your head that is not of God, tell the devil to go to hell! He's the devil and that's where he belongs!"
We just had a series at Elevation Church called Soul Detox by Pastor Craig Groschel and the series about replacing negative thoughts with Godly thoughts in our lives. Pastor Craig said" We need to be able to identify and reject toxic thoughts. Proverbs 4:23 from the CEV says, "Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life." We need to guard our thoughts and if they are not from God they are toxic thoughts and need to get out of our heads! "Replace toxic thoughts with God's truth."- Pastor Craig Groschel. Philippians 4:7-8 from the NIV84 says, "And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things."
In short, whatever is a good thought it is from God have your brain mediate on pure thoughts!! Bad thoughts are toxic and not from God!! They are CRAP!! GET OUT NOW!!
As of the time I wrote this blog, today is July 5th! There is a link called Support Blake on the left hand side of this page. Prayfully consider giving up your Cookout run if your in the Carolinas or a Starbucks drink and give $5 towards this World Race ministry for me! God will bless you ten-fold and your $5 gift will help me be able to spread the gospel to a lost and hurting world. This will help us be able to feed needy families and children in Nicaragua which is the poorest country in Central America and one of the countries I am going on during the Race! Thank you for your support! God bless!
