Sharon Lackey
“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things and revive me in Your way. Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing you. Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness.” Psalm 119:37-40 (NKJV)
In a dream, the Lord recently revealed to me that many of His children are consumed with a bunch of garbage, and because we are so consumed with this garbage (self), we are distracted and have not noticed the all-consuming fire of the enemy who has entered our homes and is snatching up our children. And all because our focus has shifted from Christ within to looking at worthless things. Let me share a great example of this all-consuming garbage.
On a recent walk with a friend, my friend started in on a long and wild vent where she spewed all her grievances. After some time, I abruptly interrupted her vent because she became hysterical and started to choke and hyperventilate. Stopping her in the middle of her vent to pray for her, I grabbed ahold of her arms and encouraged slow deep breaths. After she became a bit calmer, she informed me that venting is her process. She was confessing that she uses the flesh to help her process the flesh. What a death trap for we know that nothing good dwells in the flesh. Sadly, this has become a way of life for her, and sadly, I see the enemy picking off her children and grandchildren one by one.
I am reminded of the saying, “Venting makes you feel better, me feel worse, and changes nothing.” Venting is a worthless thing, and it changes nothing—not for the good anyway, and certainly not for His glory. It is a hamster wheel of death leading to more and more death. It is a spewing of one’s vomit (flesh) onto God or another person, and while it may grant temporary relief it only grants relief and pleasure to our flesh so that we may continue to consume more garbage to spew another day.
“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh; for the willing is present in me but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:18-25
Identity comes from the mind where our behavior is then released from these vessels (our bodies). If we have the indwelling Life of Christ, then we can release His Life. However, if we do not have His indwelling Life, we can only release flesh (death). But just because we have the indwelling Life of Christ does not mean that we will release it. It is a choice. Life and Death are set before us as a daily (all day long) choice and God calls us to choose Life (Deut. 30:19). When we choose Life, we release Life (Christ). When we choose Death, we release Death (Satan).
Therefore, it is important as children of God to have our minds renewed with Truth—the mind of Christ so that we release the mind of Christ (Romans 12:1-2). Renewing the mind is, “The adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon the life” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary). Don’t you just love that?
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
My dear reader, may we turn away our eyes from looking at worthless things, adjust our thinking to the Mind of Christ within, and Live from the Spirit of Power, Love, and Sound Mind, which the good Lord has given to us, His children. For we have the mind of Christ!
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