Go to the Throne, Not to the Phone
“Go to the throne, not to the phone” is a catchy phrase that I heard a very wise person say. What a concept: go to God instead of calling, texting or sharing on social media. This little catch phrase has helped me many times when I’m tempted to be a blabbermouth!! Did you notice I said “many times” and not “every time?”
Ok, so it’s human nature to talk about other people. I mean there are magazines, TV shows, and internet sites that are all about…well…gossip. However, God clearly warns us over and over again not to do it! In James 3:5-6 we see how dangerous our words can be: “It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”
Wow! That is serious business!
No wonder when I start negatively speaking about someone, I immediately feel really gross. I know that I need to ask for forgiveness! And I’m not just referring to petty gossip, but also talking about discussing the people who have deeply hurt me.
Lose, Lose, Lose, Lose Situation
Unfortunately it’s our human nature to be negative, critical and unforgiving. This morning something became very clear to me: the enemy loves to play on our weak human nature. He keeps us busy identifying and judging the faults of others so that we never see or deal with what is wrong with us! And when we are talking negatively about others it perpetuates the misery. It keeps us in a cycle of doom! God says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Ouch!!
But no matter how we feel, God is right (of course). It’s not good for our heart, it’s certainly not good for the person we’re talking about, it’s not good for the person listening, AND it does not glorify God. Truly a lose, lose, lose, lose situation!
Proverbs 17:9 says, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”
Approaching the Throne
Additionally in the Psalms we can see that God wants us to come to Him with our complaints. As I shared earlier, “Go to the throne, not to the phone!” See, God’s word says in Hebrews 4:16 “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Dear friends, I completely understand the need to vent. But here’s what I’m asking myself and you: do you vent to God, and let Him help you? He is on the throne!! God is longing to be there for you! And He can do something for you that no one else can: heal your heart and transform your mind! God Almighty has the power to work on your behalf!! “Vengeance is Mine says the Lord!” Believe me, I understand the need for others to understand what we are going through. We turn to people for validation. But I have found that God vindicates us so much better! The Lord can do things we never even thought were possible!!
I’m getting so filled with HOPE I have to stop to do a happy dance!
Complete Forgiveness
See, many times we will say, “I have prayed to forgive (fill in the blank) but I can’t get past it!” Here’s what I have discovered: if we keep talking about them to other people, we are keeping the unforgiveness going and going! We may say, “I’ve forgiven them, BUT…..” The Bible says to forgive but it doesn’t stop there! It also says to bless our enemies. That means with our words too! We can’t say that we have tried to forgive someone, and then keep talking about the offense over and over and over again.
Does that mean we pretend like nothing ever happened and we act fake and lie about what has transpired? No, I am suggesting that we take all of it to God, and ask Him to help us. If He leads us to have a loving discussion to seek reconciliation, then so be it. Or He may lead us to seek a Godly counselor. But there are times when discussions are not the answer…or even a possibility!
There are times when it’s simply our heart issue that needs to be healed…just between us and God. He leads us to start praying for our offender and blessing them with our words and actions. And that means to absolutely quit using our words in a negative way. The old adage is, “If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all!” Our words show the true condition of our heart. “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34b). Whether the person we want to talk negatively about and hold unforgiveness toward is truly guilty or not, we are called to get our heart right…to be at peace. I have heard it this way, “Hating those who hurt you is like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die.” That’s so true! Going to Jesus is the answer!
We have to do it God’s way, and when we do, He will heal and help us like we never thought possible!
A Real Life Story
Let me share with you an example from my life:
A few years ago I was not invited to a reunion of past co-workers…on purpose…and man, did it hurt!! I felt betrayed and rejected. I racked my brain asking, “Why? What did I do to deserve this?” But God’s word said: pray for them and bless them. The Holy Spirit was saying “Yes” but my flesh yelled “No!” God wouldn’t release me, so I followed His prompting and sent them a very nice gift and a card of blessing. I never heard a word from them, but I didn’t need to anymore! That act of blessing completely freed me! I forgave them and moved on feeling light as a feather:-)
Months later I found out that if I had been at that reunion, I would have been subjected to an extremely inappropriate situation that I DEFINITELY would not have wanted to be a part of!! God totally protected me!!
People’s rejection = God’s protection!!
What would have happened if I had gotten on the phone, or social media, and vented?? I would have stirred things up and my frustration, hurt and unforgiveness would have gone on and on! Plus I would have ended up in a bad situation that I couldn’t have gotten out of.
Been there, done that! You see, I was obedient that time, but I have definitely gone the other direction! Really, when I think about how I would handle things if it weren’t for God’s leading, it’s a scary thought. God is wanting victory for us, and obeying His word is how to get there!
These scriptures say it all:
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Luke 6:27-28).
Yes this is hard to do, but truly it is the answer to release bitterness and unforgiveness, and it takes us to a whole new level in our relationship with Christ.
Jesus says, in Luke 6:31-34 (from the Message translation),“Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that’s charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.”
(Luke 6:35-36 NIV) But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Cooperating With the Holy Spirit
See when we “Go to the throne and not to the phone” we are allowing God to take over and really do something significant! And when we concentrate on cooperating with the Holy Spirit to change and deal with ourselves first…then He might call us to humbly, lovingly and effectively help others!
Jesus calls it out plainly: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:3-5
Whoo! It is so convicting yet I need this truth to get myself straightened out!! We just have to remember that all of this hard stuff will definitely result in major blessings. First and foremost, a deeper relationship with Jesus, and then countless blessings (freedom, joy, peace, etc) that He will shower on us for obeying His word!
My prayer for you and me:
Dear Lord help us to always come to your throne instead of the phone! Father, thank you that you love us so much and desire an intimate relationship with each one of us. Lord thank you that you help us to forgive. You heal our hearts like no one else can do! I pray that you strengthen us to be faithful and obedient to you, and that you guide us and direct us by your Holy Spirit. Set a guard over our lips! Please fill us with supernatural power to do your good work! You are continually transforming our hearts and minds to become more like Christ, and we thank you and give you all the praise and glory! Amen!!
Please share this message, there are a lot of people out there who need the truth from God’s word! You never know who it might reach and help 🙂
Thank you and God Bless!