If the noise inside my head was actually released I think it would have blew out windows and busted eardrums. All I wanted to do was scream and scream really, really loud!
It was a day when everything was pulling at me, and I couldn’t come up for air. The phone wouldn’t stop buzzing, the deadlines were piling, the family demands were slipping, and the anointing felt as if it had all but dried up.
What was I thinking? How could I ever believe I could actually succeed at speaking, much less building a ministry?
I’m a first generation minister, but I don’t know the first thing about the arena I’ve stepped into. Most days I’m simply just walking, or maybe it’s stumbling, through open doors.
My naivety usually keeps me ignorant long enough to say yes to something ridiculous. Only to get a quick revelation of the steep precipice I just agreed to jump from! Then I’m stuck there wondering what the heck I got myself into!
The biggest question on my mind that day was how can I possibly sustain what I felt God was calling me to do? I am not equipped for this!
I wanted to find an escape hatch, but one didn’t exist. All I could see was an epic fail on the horizon. I would be known as the woman who tried to start a ministry and failed.
Then came the whisper… a flicker in the chaos drawing my attention away from the fears and insecurities.
He whispered the promise He’d spoke to me from the beginning…
“Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “this is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21
He whispered the prophetic word to remind me that it’s always been Him…
“There is a message inside of you, and I am calling it out.”
His words were beacons drawing me out of the darkness of my mind like a lighthouse guides a ship at night.
I dropped to my knees and began to worship God. No, I didn’t feel like singing, but I sang until my feelings lined up with my words.
I started out with a simple hymn “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there’s just something about that name. Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain. Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there is something about that name.”
That song led into another and another. Before I knew it, my mind was silent, the insecurities had vanished, and my vision was clearer and stronger than before. It is His name that changes atmospheres, refocuses dreams, and pushes us to levels we’d never attempt on our own.
So, how can we master our own atmosphere? We must:
Mind Our Thoughts: Our thoughts create an atmosphere inside of us.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor. 10:5
Be Intentional About Our Declaration: Our words create an atmosphere outside of us.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. John 16:13
Worship The Promise Maker: Our worship brings life into our atmosphere.
For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Cor. 1:20
Bill Johnson says, “I cannot afford to have a thought in my head about me that is not in God’s” By refusing to entertain what was not of God, I became the master of my own atmosphere, and my thoughts once again aligned with His.
{NOW YOUR TURN} How do you control your atmosphere? Continue the conversation with us in the comments below.