Pastor Shawn continued Alive Without Breathing this past weekend with a message on how to listen to God. In this digital age, there is so much vying for our attention–everywhere we turn, we’re getting a different message: you need this, you should be scared of that, without it you’re not everything you could be. This world can be so loud and in our faces that, for a lot of us, we eventually start to believe what it is telling us.

 

We watch that show and think: maybe I’m not beautiful. We see that advertisement and contemplate: perhaps I am less without it. We hear that harsh criticism and start to believe: you know what, maybe I am a mistake. Not only can the world be loud, but it can also be extremely negative. There is so much hurt, pain, and anger being spat, it’s easy to get caught in the crossfire. So, where’s your news coming from?

 

We’re not talking about Fox or CNN or the independent news blog spamming your inbox, but where is your truth coming from? Unfortunately, for many of us, the truth about who we are and what we do comes from this world–we’re caught up striving to please others, be what the world finds “acceptable,” and sacrifice the individuality of who we were created to be in the process. 

 

When we start believing the lies you don’t have a future, you’re unlovable, or you’re a mistake, we need to seriously readjust ourselves because those statements and labels are not coming from God, but from this earthly world.

 

When the world says you don’t have a future, what does God say? “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11). When the world says you’re unlovable, what does God say? “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). When the world says you’re a mistake, what does God say? “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14a).

 

It’s time we change the channels in our minds; we’ve been listening to a false narrative for too long. The truth about who we are needs to be firmly rooted in God’s Word. When anything in this world challenges Biblical truth, you know it’s not from God.

 

Friend, God says you have a future. He says you have a purpose. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. You are loved by the Creator of all. He is for you. Through Him, you can overcome any obstacle. Through Him, no weapon formed against you will prosper. 

 

Know the Truth before the world feeds you its own version of it. Spend time in the Bible and time with God in prayer–daily. Pore over His truths and cherish them, so when evil comes to attack you, it will have already lost in the light of God’s flawless, perfect Word.