Who Are You Talking To?

Who Are You Talking To?

If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you.

Psalm 91:9-10

Jim Cymbala says that “unbelief talks to itself instead of talking to God.”^a How’s that for cutting straight to the problem of our lack of peace? I don’t know about you, but my unbelief has talked to itself all night long at times, keeping me wide awake when everyone else was fast asleep. But what does that kind of conversation sound like?

For some it might sound like this: I’ve got to figure out a way to make more money or we’re going under. No way can we make it on my salary. But this economy is rotten. What am I going to do? I won’t be able to pay the mortgage. The kids won’t be able to go to the doctor. If we lose our house, we’ll have to move and they’ll have to change schools. The stress is going to tear my marriage apart. There’s no way I can ever retire. I’ve got to figure out a way to make more money or we’re going under.

Notice how circular the talk is, just worry feeding on worry and ending up pretty much in the same place it began. Now, I’m not trying to downplay concerns that are serious and difficult. I’m just saying that we won’t be able to resolve them by feeding on our unbelief, rather than confiding in God and feeding on the faith he gives.

What if the conversation went more like this: Lord, I’m worried and afraid. Yet I know you’re faithful and that you have promised to provide. Thank you for helping me pay the bills last month. I still don’t know what to do, but you do. Instead of being afraid, I want to stay close to you, to put you first, to serve you and obey you and to trust that as I do you will be with me and my family. Lead me step by step. Help me to glorify you no matter what happens. I trust you, Lord.

Soaking in God’s Word, letting it shape the conversation we are having with ourselves and God, can help us stop conversing with unbelief. Remember, if you want to find peace, you’ve got to be careful who you talk to.

Father, I want to be in communion with you and not with unbelief. Turn my mind, my heart, and my prayers to you, the only one who gives real peace.

^a Jim Cymbala, Fresh Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999), 93.