“I will hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints” (Psalm 85:8).
I have learned throughout life that we are definitely affected by what we hear other people say, whether good or bad. Much to our detriment, many times, we dwell on the bad things we hear rather than focusing on the good. I know this from personal experience. Last year, I was told after a routine echo echocardiogram that I had a serious problem and was being referred to a specialist. Upon hearing the news, I went outside, got in my car, and had a full-blown panic attack. I called my sister who lives 900 miles away. She prayed with me until my heart stopped pounding and I could calm down. Further testing by the cardiologist showed it to be a false alarm. All that scare for nothing.
I’ve known of so many people who seemed to be fine one day, then they received a bad report from a doctor, and all of a sudden, everything changed. They began to immediately notice symptoms they had not noticed before, only because the doctor said they should have them. Fear and dread took hold and began to rob them of every ounce of peace. That’s the power of a bad report.
The Enemy of our soul comes and says many things to us during times of struggle. He speaks depression, sadness, and gloom. He robs us of peace, joy, hope, and anything else that we will allow. He works on our minds. “You can’t make it”; “You’re a failure”; “You’re never getting out of the mess you’re in”; “Nothing can help you now.” But theWord of God tells us in John 8:44 that Satan “is a liar” and “there is no truth in him.”
We don’t deny that sometimes things are not all that great.
Yes, we often have sickness and, yes, we have bad times be- cause we are human beings.We live in a world that is full of sin and evil. We are surrounded by it on all sides. Difficulties often come to the children of God, but we are made to overcome through Jesus. We are more than conquerors. We are victorious.
Why not choose to believe the report of the Lord? His Word must be in our mouth as well as in our heart. As we speak it and dwell on it, it becomes engrafted into our hearts and spirits. His report declares we can have peace, joy, healing, and success. Everything we need is in Christ. I will declare the good things He has done.
