Keep the Heart

Not long ago, I saw a little wall plaque that said this: “Hold on. I’ve gotta overthink about it.” That’s funny until it’s not.

Overthinking keeps us from doing things that could be beneficial while trapping us in a prison cell of doubt. Whether you’re doubting your abilities or doubting God, overthinking is a real vision killer, and it feeds on fears and what ifs. Is overthinking keeping you stuck? Don’t overthink that question. Just answer it honestly.

The general definition of overthinking is to “think about something too much or for too long.” Why would we do this? There are lots of reasons, but it is a learned behavior. Sometimes it’s fear of failure, and other times it may be a fear of not being accepted, or maybe we’re just afraid to try anything unfamiliar. Is there something you’re supposed to be doing but you’ve talked yourself out of trying? You may be a victim of overthinking, and the person doing this to you is in the mirror.

Whatever you’re putting off—whether it’s sharing the Gospel with someone God has put in your path, starting a new ministry, or launching a small business, overthinking will trap you in a loop of second-third-and-fourth guessing, preventing you from getting anything done. This is a form of self-inflicted torment, and unless we face this foe, we’ll stay stuck by choice. Sometimes it’s more comfortable not to do something than to step out boldly and walk by faith.

How can we stop paralyzing ourselves with overthinking? Let’s consider four suggestions, and then you can get together with God to pray about this whole subject. He has more for you. As usual, this episode is just a starter list.

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Little is Much When Many are the Givers

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Have you ever opened a package of something, intending only to have a few bites and then suddenly the entire package was gone? We may think it’s something that’s just routine, but it’s really the result of a habit.

Sometimes we try to wiggle out of facing our issues by claiming that they aren’t addressed in the Bible, but on closer examination we will find that habits are in the Bible. They show up in lists like the "fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23, and like the "add to our faith" qualities in 2 Peter 1:5-8.

Good habits help us to grow. Bad habits hinder growth and keep us stuck and spinning our wheels like a car stuck in a Minnesota snowbank. If you’ve never experienced having your car tires stuck in a snowbank, let me tell you from experience that you can rev the engine all you want but you’re not going anywhere.

Why do we settle for being stuck in habits that we hate when we can grow and thrive? Sometimes it’s as simple as this: we’re not examining ourselves to consider our ways. We’re just repeating the same mistakes but expecting a different outcome. God can help us with this. Let’s look at a person in the Bible whose habits helped him, with the goal of allowing the examples to help us as well. His name was Paul, and he had some great habits that anyone can practice.

ICU--In Christ Unconditionally: Heart Conditions Bible Application Study

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"I don't like what's happening in my life right now."

Culture shock sounds like that.

Maybe you’re a newlywed and you’ve moved to a new town with your husband and you don’t even know your way to Target. We know how much we love our Target runs!

Or could it be that you’re a former Pastor’s wife and suddenly, your husband is no longer the pastor? That creates an identity crisis on several levels.

Or maybe you’re a missionary on the field, and you wonder sometimes if people really care enough to pray for you as you go through struggles that you wouldn’t write about in the missionary prayer letter.

Or perhaps you’re like me, a widow who doesn’t know how to NOT be a wife. You’ve been married for longer than you’ve done anything else in life, and now you’re in a “Who am I?” stage of life.

Or maybe your situation is something else, but you’re still feeling like things just don’t fit right.

We don't have to move to a foreign country to experience culture shock. Whether you're feeling cut off from things that were familiar, or you're just going through too many changes, the uncertainty and uneasiness is real. 

What can we do when we’re in a new or trying situation and we're wrestling to adjust? This episode provides four tips designed to inspire you to walk through this season with hope and encouragement.

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ICU--In Christ Unconditionally: Heart Conditions Bible Application Study

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According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of self-indulgence is “excessive or unrestrained gratification of one's own appetites, desires, or whims.” Self-indulgence has lots of indicators. Here are some signs that you may be struggling with self-indulgence:

• You have an income but no money because of your spending habits.

Self-indulgence is self-inflicted bondage. You are in prison and holding the keys. Living like this makes life less enjoyable and more stressful. The self-indulgent life seems like it would reward us, but it actually robs and enslaves us. This tendency to do whatever we please was born in the Garden of Eden, and it has been an easy trap every since. What can we do about it?

This episode provides three starter suggestions, and then it would be best for you to go and spend some time with the Lord in prayer for more specific direction. We’re all unique, and while we may have common struggles, God can put His finger on our particular weaknesses and help us to overcome them by His power and might, not by our own. 

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Are you one of many people who didn’t mind when church was limited to live stream for a season? Maybe you would only admit this to close friends or family, but you had company. After decades of going to church in person, suddenly we were sitting in our pajamas with pancakes, bacon, coffee and our Bibles. Okay maybe some of you only had coffee but still, this wasn't how we normally went to church.

Something happened during that time of dramatic change. It advanced the ideal environment for spiritual dryness. Not everyone had this experience, but if you found yourself embracing the live stream over the in-person service so much that you didn’t want to return, there may have been more going on than just side effects of the pandemic. And it’s not just about church, either.

Seasons of spiritual dryness can happen to anyone. The pandemic is not the only thing that was going on in people’s lives when it arrived, and it will never be the only thing we’re facing on any given day. There are many things in life that can leave us feeling physically spent and spiritually drained, but God can help us to recover. We'll consider three indicators that we may be running dry, and then we’ll explore suggestions for recovering from this temporary condition. Spiritual dryness happens, but it doesn’t have to become permanent.

ICU--In Christ Unconditionally: Heart Conditions Bible Application Study

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One of the wealthiest people who ever lived had houses in the plural, and they were paid for in full. These homes were surrounded by vineyards and gorgeous gardens filled with orchards of fruit trees. An elaborate irrigation system watered the gardens and trees. No running around moving the old-fashioned sprinklers for this property owner!

But it didn’t stop there. Since this person had unlimited wealth, servants were hired to do everything from groundskeeping to cooking, cleaning, and more. Any possessions that someone else had, this person had to have bigger and better. There wasn’t enough to satisfy the bottomless appetite of this wealthy man.

And even with all this abundance, the man named Solomon, who had been known for his great wisdom said these shocking words found in Ecclesiastes 2:17:

"Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit."

Have you ever said that you hated life? Maybe you, like Solomon, were looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places. While there are many lessons we could learn from Solomon's mistakes, we'll consider three take-aways that are relevant to our lives today. 

ICU--In Christ Unconditionally: Old Testament Bible Application Study

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When several items were stolen from my checked luggage last December, it really degraded my trust in the airlines. I couldn't prove who took the things from my bag, but this experience made me determine not to pack anything of greater value than a pair of used shoes!

It's understandable when we have trust issues as a side effect of being wronged by someone, especially when it was someone we should have been able to count as reliable. The problem with trust issues is that they tend to spill over into our walk with God, causing us to worry and become filled with anxiety and doubt. Fear and fretfulness are merely signs that our trust in God needs opportunities to grow. 

We may prefer to stay in our comfort zones, but greater growth happens in the discomfort zone, and that's where trust is learned. God is worthy of our trust, no matter what happens in this life. 

Sister Friends--book

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You’ve done or said something wrong and now your friend is upset with you. It was totally an accident, but the outcome was the same as if you’d had done it on purpose. You felt really bad about it at first, until you started analyzing the situation. Was it really all your fault, or was this person just being thin-skinned?

Come to think of it, hasn’t she or he said a thing or two in the past that didn’t sit right with you, but you let it go? Where is the grace for you that you gave them when they were in the wrong? The more you replay these unhelpful thoughts, the less inclined you'll be to apologize. Developing a bad attitude won’t fix the situation. It will just delay the repairs.

Apologizing when we’ve done or said something offensive requires spiritual maturity and humility. This episode will focus on what we can do to make things right when we’ve been the offender. 

Sister Friends--book

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Have you ever had something happen in your life that made you wonder, "What just happened here?"

Heartbreaking events create a pressure in life that is like an explosion.  First, there is shock as a person processes information that knocks them off their feet, and then the pain begins. As pain transitions into a cold numbness, it leaves behind side-effects that take time to resolve. Explosions in families, marriages, ministry, and more are reminders of our perilous times.

What can we do after something has happened to cause the earth to feel like it is crumbling beneath our feet? How do we recover when tragedy strikes, leaving us dazed and wounded? There are some things that we can do, and we'll cover these suggestions in this episode.

Teachers of Good Things--book

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People in the Old and New Testament had painful things happen in their lives that people wouldn't tend to freely discuss:

• King David murdered Uriah to cover up his adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. (2 Sam. 11:1-17). The baby from this adulterous relationship died abruptly.

All of these accounts from Scripture prove that we are not the first to have things happen in our lives that are uncommonly hard. Sometimes things happen that we just can’t discuss openly with others, and this may lead to feelings of isolation and despair.

This episode offers four suggestions for walking through those times when we’re dealing with issues that we’re not free to discuss. We need wisdom when we’re secretly carrying a heavy burden. When you can't talk about it, you may feel lonely, but you are not alone.

ICU--In Christ Unconditionally: Old Testament Bible Application Study

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