Today's Prompt: Shock**
A couple of days ago, I wrote about doing a belief check-up.
Were you shocked by what you discovered?
Me too!
I was shocked to see how much the media had influenced my beliefs.
Little bits of doubt were trickling in, overwriting beliefs I had held firm.
Challenging your beliefs is a good thing. You come out of the experience with the ability to defend and hold firm to them. The Bible tells us we should always be ready to explain our faith.
Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect. I Peter3:15
If you came across some beliefs that need shoring up or changing, here is a way to go about it.
Choose a belief that you want to challenge.
Think about why you are challenging it. Is it a belief you can't defend? Has something happened in life that made you doubt its validity?
Have you uncovered a truth that contradicts that belief? Be open-minded and flexible to what the Holy Spirit is showing you.
Identify what is influencing that belief.
Several things can sway our beliefs. One is so-called experts presenting theories as facts.
When an expert tells us something, we tend to believe it. At the very least, it raises doubts. But much of what they say is not based in fact, just theories they have developed to promote their ideas. Use caution and listen to the experts carefully.
Think about your childhood and the beliefs you picked up from your parents, friends, and teachers. How is that influencing you now? Figure out which of your experiences and emotions affected this belief.
Make your case.
Pretend you had to defend this belief in court. Come up with as many reasons to support it as you can. Gather evidence for both sides of the argument. Make yourself stick to truth and facts, not how you feel about it. Cite scripture and verse to back up your point of view.
Choose what you will believe.
Study the evidence you gathered. Discuss it with trusted friends. Talk it over with the Lord. When you have made your decision write it down. What you believe is always your choice. Choose wisely.
Reinforce that belief until it becomes natural.
Review your belief and your reasons for it daily. Meditate on it and how it will affect your life.
A new belief has to be ingrained into your mind until it replaces the old one. When you are in traffic, and somebody cuts you off, your beliefs dictate how you react. If a friend hurts your feelings, your beliefs will influence how you respond. When you have to make a decision, it is your beliefs that determine which way you choose.
Old or wrong beliefs can shock us by turning up when we least expect them. Living a delightful life with the Lord is the ability to act and react in a way that pleases Him. To do that, we must have our beliefs aligned with His and firmly ingrained into ourselves.
**This post is part of the #write28days Challenge, writing and posting EVERY DAY in February
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4 comments
I might, if I may, add to the court theory. God has to be the judge, the Spirit, the advocate or attorney. Jesus has allowed us to come boldly to the throne, and the accuser or adversary, the devil loses.
I’ve been writing a lot about truth lately. I always try to measure my beliefs by how they stack up to God’s word. It’s important who I’m listening to, and what I’m looking at, because those things influence my thought life. And then, what I think, I become. I believe the first part of Proverbs 23:7 says, As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is.
This is my favorite take away.
“Pretend you had to defend this belief in court. Come up with as many reasons to support it as you can. Gather evidence for both sides of the argument. Make yourself stick to truth and facts, not how you feel about it. Cite scripture and verse to back up your point of view.“
Wise advice! We always need to stand on God’s Word as our foundation for what we believe, and to examine ourselves often to make sure we understand and can defend the truth.