Home > Work > Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others
1 " Every second you spend wishing God would take away a struggle is a forfeited opportunity to overcome. "
― Steven Furtick , Crash the Chatterbox: Hearing God's Voice Above All Others
2 " The One who lives outside of time invites you into a reality that is informed by His perfect plans to give you hope and a future. God speaks in the past tense about battles you’re currently fighting. And He buries the shame of yesterday in order to resurrect the moment you are in and sustain you in the season He is calling you to embrace. "
3 " Because the voice you believe will determine the future you experience. "
4 " Isn’t this a microcosm of how our lives feel sometimes? I don’t completely understand the rules, and I’m surrounded by others who are smarter. Fitter. Funnier. Better. But when we narrow our focus and know where to look for the approval of our Father, life takes on a glorious simplicity. The burning question is no longer “What did they think of that?” Or even “What did I think of that?” Now it’s only “God, were You good with that? Thumbs-up? If You’re good, I’m good.” His acceptance becomes my guidance. And my reward. "
5 " What makes you think you have to turn your life around before you can completely commit your life to God? What makes you think you have to impress God with your obedience before He will impart His grace to you? What makes you think you have to do things to get God to like you, much less love you? What makes you think you have to be the perfect spouse or parent before God will perfectly love you? Many Christians spend a lifetime trying to achieve something that Jesus already achieved for them. God’s acceptance isn’t based on performance. It wasn’t for Jesus. And because of what He did for you, it isn’t for you either. The acceptance He had, you have. The love He unconditionally received, you unconditionally receive. Yes, Jesus was the Son of God. But through Him, you are a child of God with the same privileges.1 That includes the privilege of having God look at you and say, “I am well pleased. "
6 " And even when you can’t get seem to get your act together, your identity is secure and completely intact. Because in Christ, who you are matters infinitely more than anything you do or cannot do. "
7 " the voice you believe will determine the future you experience. "
8 " Would have. Could have. Should have. This is the language of condemnation underscored by the passivity of regret. It’s a dead language. The thing is, you can’t un-sin. You can only repent. "
9 " Accepting God’s acceptance of me doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying. It means I’m going to stop trying out. And I am intentionally redirecting my obsession. "
10 " Before you were born—before any of your defects were apparent to you—they were absolutely apparent to God. That didn’t stop Him from calling your name and setting you apart. He placed you on the earth at a certain time for a pre-decided purpose. "
11 " I tend to be one of those people who takes great pride in calling it like I see it. I say things like, “I’m not being grumpy or negative or pessimistic. I’m just keeping it real.” “I’m not complaining. I’m just calling it like I see it.” But people armed with a spirit of gratitude know that often it is what you call it. So what if, instead of calling it like we see it, we began to call it like God says it? "
12 " Also, sometimes perhaps we stand by passively, waiting for God to fix the issues that He’s called us to fight in His strength. If we’re going to overcome the thoughts that hold us back, first we have to give up the hope that they’ll ever go away. Every second you spend wishing God would take away a struggle is a forfeited opportunity to overcome. "
13 " People don’t believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves. —SETH GODIN "
14 " Gratitude begins where our sense of entitlement ends. "
15 " The more deeply we reinforce our identity in Christ, the more fortified we will be against the onslaught of opposing voices in our lives. "
16 " The Enemy can’t keep you from being who God says you are. But he can blind you from realizing who God says you are. "
17 " You can’t be afraid to stare into the pupils of the possibility of pain and see it for what it is. "
18 " What is the fear of God, then? It is being terrified of ever being outside of His protection. "
19 " When you realize that God is the only One who really has any lasting reward to give, He becomes the only One whose approval you desperately need. You can rest in the fact that you have it—in full measure—because the work of God’s perfect Son, Jesus, secured your acceptance the moment you placed your faith in Him. Before you ever win or lose, God has turned His face toward you. He has chosen you. And He is pleased. "
20 " The only opportunity the chatterbox ever has to download lies into our heads is if we have allowed it first to delete the memory of who we are in Christ. "