Half way through this book I realized that I needed to share how the content of this book is adding to my spiritual walk in a positive way.
In the introduction Pastor Furtick quickly entices with the explanation of what is the "Chatterbox".
The Chatterbox is that voice in your head that with no shame begins drumming away the beat of your most negative and intimidating thoughts. The negative declarations of the Chatterbox have no mercy and it's ready to eat your confidence alive.
Pastor Furtick explains how this can start at the crack of dawn. As soon as you begin the daily morning routine your mind starts to anxiously calculate everything you "need" to get done in order to feel like you don't suck as a person.
The introduction gives a described scenario of how hectic mornings can bring us to a "mid-morning melt down", and the melt downs (as we are trying to leave the house and make it to work on time) can make us feel as if the sky is falling (very overwhelmed)...
Can you relate? I can't tell you how many times I wake up thinking of a conversation I had with someone the day before. Do you ever ever wake up obsessing over an incident that happened the day of days before.. or maybe rehearsing a dialogue and obsessing on things I could have and should have said?
For me these mental meltdowns begin in my workplace. Feelings of inadequacy are easy for my chatterbox to access when I'm at work. I have always suffered from feelings of being a failed attempt of a perfectionist. Easily I can find myself striving and stressing, but at the same time feeling like I'm never good enough.
As I read the introduction I came to the understanding and revelation of why this happens to me.
In a season of my life I took a leap of faith by leaving a job in which I was comfortable. I started to work in an office where I was known as "the slow one", (ouch!) it was all new to me (the type of trade), so I would go home crying feeling like the "sky was falling down", feeling like I was never going to understand my new duties in this work-field, feeling the fear that I was going to get fired. I had been on my own for a few, 2 maybe close to 3, years out of my dad's house. I remember feeling like, "if this doesn't work out what am I going to do?... am I going to have to go back to my dad's house as a failure?"
These feelings still haunt me, but as the introduction continues to read ... "God is also faithful to speak".For a very long time I felt that my job was a source of security and stability. How much success was I gaining? How much recognition was I receiving? These things controlled me. It is amazing to understand that fears that controlled an aspect of my life started out as thoughts. (THE CHATTERBOX)
It has been 1 year and 1/2 that I surrendered my will to the Lord. One of the most palpable things I have seen, after complete surrender, is how The Lord is my only source of security. The Lord has been faithful and has provided in ways that clearly show Him speaking to my heart telling me that if I have Him I lack nothing (Psalm 23) ...
Do I still have fears? Do I still struggle with feelings of inadequacy? Do I still constantly battle with "the chatterbox"? YES!YES!YES! The introduction explains to us that life as a Christian doesn't mean we are magically delivered from the chatterbox. We are not chatterbox free. Pastor Furtick explains, "I had hoped these problems would finally be fixed when I became a committed Christian. But the beat went on."
Life as a Christian doesn't mean we get amnesia and our mind erases the constant thoughts that controlled our actions. Being a Christian means we get the truth of the promises of the Word of God and we get to learn how to apply the truth to our lives. When you begin to rehearse these truths, your identity and the way you see yourself changes. Being a Christian also means we understand the gift of choice. God gave us free will. We get to chose which voices we will answer to. The voice of His truths or the voice of the Chatterbox.
The more we built a relationship with God through prayer, worship and reading His Word (daily) the more equipped we become to battle with the chatterbox and its lies!
As Pastor Furtick says in the introduction, "It requires constancy.", and by being able to tap into the power of the Word of God, I am able to become the person I am striving to believe I can be.
In the introduction Pastor Furtick quickly entices with the explanation of what is the "Chatterbox".
The Chatterbox is that voice in your head that with no shame begins drumming away the beat of your most negative and intimidating thoughts. The negative declarations of the Chatterbox have no mercy and it's ready to eat your confidence alive.
Pastor Furtick explains how this can start at the crack of dawn. As soon as you begin the daily morning routine your mind starts to anxiously calculate everything you "need" to get done in order to feel like you don't suck as a person.
The introduction gives a described scenario of how hectic mornings can bring us to a "mid-morning melt down", and the melt downs (as we are trying to leave the house and make it to work on time) can make us feel as if the sky is falling (very overwhelmed)...
Can you relate? I can't tell you how many times I wake up thinking of a conversation I had with someone the day before. Do you ever ever wake up obsessing over an incident that happened the day of days before.. or maybe rehearsing a dialogue and obsessing on things I could have and should have said?
For me these mental meltdowns begin in my workplace. Feelings of inadequacy are easy for my chatterbox to access when I'm at work. I have always suffered from feelings of being a failed attempt of a perfectionist. Easily I can find myself striving and stressing, but at the same time feeling like I'm never good enough.
As I read the introduction I came to the understanding and revelation of why this happens to me.
In a season of my life I took a leap of faith by leaving a job in which I was comfortable. I started to work in an office where I was known as "the slow one", (ouch!) it was all new to me (the type of trade), so I would go home crying feeling like the "sky was falling down", feeling like I was never going to understand my new duties in this work-field, feeling the fear that I was going to get fired. I had been on my own for a few, 2 maybe close to 3, years out of my dad's house. I remember feeling like, "if this doesn't work out what am I going to do?... am I going to have to go back to my dad's house as a failure?"
These feelings still haunt me, but as the introduction continues to read ... "God is also faithful to speak".For a very long time I felt that my job was a source of security and stability. How much success was I gaining? How much recognition was I receiving? These things controlled me. It is amazing to understand that fears that controlled an aspect of my life started out as thoughts. (THE CHATTERBOX)
It has been 1 year and 1/2 that I surrendered my will to the Lord. One of the most palpable things I have seen, after complete surrender, is how The Lord is my only source of security. The Lord has been faithful and has provided in ways that clearly show Him speaking to my heart telling me that if I have Him I lack nothing (Psalm 23) ...
Do I still have fears? Do I still struggle with feelings of inadequacy? Do I still constantly battle with "the chatterbox"? YES!YES!YES! The introduction explains to us that life as a Christian doesn't mean we are magically delivered from the chatterbox. We are not chatterbox free. Pastor Furtick explains, "I had hoped these problems would finally be fixed when I became a committed Christian. But the beat went on."
Life as a Christian doesn't mean we get amnesia and our mind erases the constant thoughts that controlled our actions. Being a Christian means we get the truth of the promises of the Word of God and we get to learn how to apply the truth to our lives. When you begin to rehearse these truths, your identity and the way you see yourself changes. Being a Christian also means we understand the gift of choice. God gave us free will. We get to chose which voices we will answer to. The voice of His truths or the voice of the Chatterbox.
The more we built a relationship with God through prayer, worship and reading His Word (daily) the more equipped we become to battle with the chatterbox and its lies!
As Pastor Furtick says in the introduction, "It requires constancy.", and by being able to tap into the power of the Word of God, I am able to become the person I am striving to believe I can be.
♡
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