I love how humble, willing to be
vulnerable, candid, humorous, and honest Pastor Steven Furtick is in sharing
examples from his own day-to-day struggles with the chatterbox, the internal
monologue that goes on in our minds that can keep us from living in the
fullness of God’s love and freedom. The
lies we believe keep us from hearing, heeding, and accepting the Truth about
God, how He sees us and others.
Identifying the lies is an essential step in order to “Crash the Chatterbox.” Furtick explains that the
lies we believe often fall under one of these four categories: insecurity,
fear, condemnation, and discouragement.
Furtick offers Biblical truths about the children of God as proof that many of the thoughts we have that fall under one of the four categories mentioned above are contrary to who God says we are and how Our Creator sees us. The importance of daily prayer and ongoing Scripture study are emphasized as keys to combating lies.
If you voiced aloud to someone else some of the exact same things that go through your mind about yourself, would they be horrified, offended, or hurt? Probably. The thing is the lies we believe not only affect us and our openness to God, but they also affect those around us in big and small ways.
Furtick doesn’t suggest that any negative emotion we have is a lie. Sorrow, guilt, and regret are all very real, truth-based, and can be indicators of sinfulness for which we need to repent and accept forgiveness.
It’s rather freeing to find out that some things are intended to be part of our daily struggle to grow closer to the Lord and become more Christ-like. There’s not some point at which we’ll have overcome all fears, temptations, lies, roadblocks and can coast along without any more obstacles internally or externally—at least not this side of Heaven.
I can identify best with people who are down in the trenches still fighting spiritual battles, though able to see and share some of the insights and grace God has given them to keep fighting. I prefer to read about and hear from a fellow prayer warrior who may be a bit frazzled, but who continues on confident in Christ.
Through humor, personal stories, and pound the chatterbox nuggets, Furtick reminds us that the negative influences, thoughts, and feelings in our lives aren’t going to disappear. We’re in this battle against darkness and evil, but Christ has already conquered everything we’re fighting against. We’re given the mercy, grace, forgiveness…all of the tools we need to win every fight we have with fear, discouragement, insecurity, and condemnation. We just have to admit that we need these blessings and stock up on them through study and prayer.
When a thought goes through my mind, it can be helpful to ask myself whose line is this, anyway? If it’s of God, I may be called out and asked to change in some way, but, ultimately, I will be lifted up and affirmed as a beloved child of the Lord. If the line of thinking is governed by fear, insecurity, condemnation, and discouragement without an ounce of hope or freedom in sight, then it’s time to suit up. When all else fails, go get your armor!
I highly recommend Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God’s Voice above All Others by Steven Furtick. It’s one of the few books that I have read twice in a row, because there are so many powerful truths and reminders about how to recognize and combat the lies Satan tries to feed us. I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review. For more information about the book, or to order your own copy, click here.
There are some great links, interviews with some of the experts that are quoted in the book available on the www.crashthechatterbox.com website. It’s another really good resource that will help you get the most from this book.
