THE LORD IS FOR YOU
“The Lord is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Psalm 118:6
I have a confession to make. At times, I struggle with “stinkin’ thinkin’”. “Stinkin’ thinkin’” is believing something about God, ourselves, or others that is not true. In my life it might go something like this, “God could have come through for me, but He hasn’t…”, “God comes through for everyone else in this area, so why hasn’t He come through for me?”, “Maybe God just ‘has it in for me’…”
Can you relate? I bet you can. Within each of us is a “recording”, a “tape” that plays. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the internal dialogue we have in our heads in moments of temptation, testing, and trials. It sounds something like this, “Am I the only person who struggles with this? Why am I so stupid? What would others think of me if they knew this about me?”
“Stinkin’ Thinkin’” is often rooted in a number of different sources – father wounds, mother wounds, traumatic wounds, bad church experiences, our sinful past or hurtful experiences. If left unchecked or unresolved, inevitably God will be blamed.
During these times, it’s imperative for our hearts and minds to land on the truth. Here is one truth I have come back to again and again – “The Lord is for me…”
The Lord is for me. He’s not against me. He doesn’t have it in for me. He’s not a cosmic killjoy. God knows what’s best for me. And, He wants what’s best for me.
- From Scott & Dawn Smith's book Principles of Life
Consider how "stinkin' thinkin'" could affect your marriage... What are you believing about your spouse? Are you letting bitterness and anger guide your thoughts? Or are you letting the truth of God's word guide your thoughts? Our quickness to forgive and show grace to our spouse does wonders for our thought life, but if we harvest sinful thoughts and unforgiveness toward them, the enemy will have a field day with our thought life. We must walk in the power of the Spirit, choosing to believe what God says about us and our spouse, in order to overcome "stinkin' thinkin'" and love our spouse in a way that honors God.
