How do you get rid of nagging thoughts in your mind that just won't go away? Gossip and things that you know aren't true, but can't help thinking about? Here's what Jesus did.
Lies can be very persuasive.
Rupert, a friend, approached me and said he had something to tell me about a Phil, a mutual friend. In confidence, of course. He then told me some vicious gossip. I politely broke away from Rupert and immediately dismissed the gossip. I know Phil. I have known him for a long time. He’s a good man. It couldn’t be true.
The next time I saw Phil, immediately the gossip popped into my mind. In fact, I wasn’t as comfortable around Phil as I used to be. Over time, and with many interactions with Phil, the toxic effect of that gossip finally wore off.
Toxic thoughts pop into our heads about ourselves, about God, and about others. If we let them linger in our minds and hearts, we poison our own well of thoughts.
Repeated thoughts become beliefs and then we are truly deceived.
Satan, the father of lies, appeared to Adam and Eve as a snake. Lies are like snake bites. It’s not enough to chase away the snake. The poison is in us. We need an antidote. God’s Word is the antidote. We take it by putting God’s Word in our mouth.
Jesus showed us how to answer Satan’s lies in Matthew 4:3-4:
“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’ But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”’
We live by God’s words. That is our daily bread. Our spiritual food.
Jesus frequently spoke to problems, commanding them to submit to God’s will. He cast out demons with words. He commanded sickness to leave.
He spoke “Peace, be still.” to the wind and waves during a terrifying storm while on a small boat in the Sea of Galilee. (Mark 4:39)
Jesus told us if we speak to the mountain (whatever it is in our lives that we want removed) and believed, God would remove it for us. Mark 11:23.
When we declare scripture we are speaking to the mountain (the lie) that needs to be removed from our lives and we are declaring God’s Word. And God does it! He establishes the truth and replaces the lie.