Whispers of Unbelief Meet Noise & Clutter

Chapters 4 & 5 of Do You Think I'm Beautiful by Angela Hunt seemed to be written just for Mardy's Leaders Prayer Retreat. They address lies that we believe (in other words, not believing His truth) which effect everything we think & do then explain how to move from bondage to those lies swirling around in our head to hearing & seeing God's wonderful truth.

Mardy's "Magic Formula" for the Christian Walk:
1. Call on God, cry out to Him.
2. Be still & wait on Him.
3. Listen to what He says.
4. Do it: OBEY.

Many bog down in items two & three; then don't have a solid number four to act upon. Isn't that awful? Fully half of what's necessary is not happening and one fourth is based on potentially shakey information.

PTL we have the truth in His Word to guide us but we must be listening!

Book snippits:

If we can't get past our unbelief then we will absolutely never know the joy of
the dance. We'll continue to live around the edge of life, never truly entering
in.

Mark 9:23-27
v. 24 "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief."

Let the truth of God's love be the exclamation that silences the muttering
in your head.

"I don't know how to describe it."
"Can you try?"
It's like there are a lot of voices in my head.
It's loud in here. I wish I could turn it
down."
"You are not alone.
A lot of people tell me it's noisy inside their
head."
"Really? This is normal?"
"Yep, perfectly normal, but incredibly
distracting."

Then Angela described the "regular pandemonium" in her head which ranged from life noise all around (she has 4 kids too) to the lists of things to do & remember THEN hit the REAL noise - the "unanswered longings, lies we've believed, fears we've embraced, choices we've made":

You mean this is all there is to life? I've wasted so much time. It's all my fault. Who have I become and who is the real me? My sin is too big. My life doesn't count for much. My scars are too painful. I'm an embarrassment. Somebody get me out of here. Time is running out; hurry up and do something.

The solution to noise? Quiet time in prayer, listening for God's truth. Mardy's items number two & three.

Then there is the clutter.

Soul clutter is the collection of emotional, relational, and spiritual
issues that we have been stepping over and ignored, thinking we'll get around to
it eventually. Realize that you might have to get messy to get clean, and it
could take awhile to get it all sorted out.

Clutter happens when an issue begins to get in the way, when the steps of
your soul are stacked with piles of emotions, thoughts and relationships that
need attention. Maybe you've been tripping over them for years now.

Steps for dealing:
1. Acknowledge the mess.
2. Realize that you may have to call for help.
3. Pray and seek prayer covering.
4. Expect this season of reconciling, reordering, and repairing to take longer than you think it will.
5. Journal.
6. Allow God to lavish you with His grace.

Psalm 103:8-14
v. 14 for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.

Yep, that's me. I'm a beautiful little dirt person.

So are you.
Believe it.