“DO NOT FEED IT!”

I locked the door and was halfway downstairs, when I suddenly got the urge (as had become customary) to turn back and check the door. In that moment, The Holy Spirit said, “Do not feed it.”  I obeyed.  Instead of submitting to the urge, I continued downstairs and made my way out.  This has since been my new norm.  Whenever the spirit of forgetfulness starts letting me  second-guess myself about locking up, turning off the stove, arming the security system of the car, or anything similar, knowing that I already did it, I remember, “do not feed it,” and I don’t.   I am now more intentional about what is first required of me upon leaving different spaces and believe that I have done so instead of embodying the forgetful spirit.  In other words, I no longer normalize memory loss/brain fog; I rewire my brain to focus on my daily tasks and trust that it is well.  This way, forgetfulness or any other negative perception does not become my identity or second nature, especially as I work on operating in an identity rooted in Christ and let that become second nature to me.

That “do not feed it” instruction has fast become a mantra that has been reshaping how I operate when second-guessing, in any scenario, emerges.  Admittedly, the mantra is a daily deliberate effort.  Essentially, I remind myself to “not feed it.” When negative thoughts arise.

As I walk in the “Do Not Feed it” instruction of the Holy Spirit, here are some things that I will no longer feed:

Fear:  I can’t tell you how many times I have let fear prevent me from doing what I needed to do.  God’s Word states, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Similarly, Proverbs 29:25 reminds us that “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”  Therefore, no longer shall we feed fear since it is obviously contrary to what The Truth instructs.

Attachment to mistakes: I am yet to meet a person who is void of mistakes.  The problem is that some of us are better at releasing our past mistakes and allowing God’s restoration to emanate our daily walk.  Obviously, the enemy’s sole purpose is to “kill, steal, and destroy,” especially by reminding us of who we were outside of surrender.  When we feed that way of thinking, we remain in a self-deprecating chokehold instead of walking in the renewal of God’s grace.  When we “do not feed it,” we are facilitating the embodiment of 2 Corinthians 5:17 that tells us that “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Offense:   I agree with John Bevere that offense is, indeed, the bait of Satan and have been doing my best to not be baited; so much so that my quest to become unoffendable has yielded some positive outcomes.  Lately, I have not been feeding other people’s attempts to offend me.  This simply means that though I am aware, of a person’s deliberate jabs, I allow my prayer and The Holy Spirit to guide my response or the lack thereof to those jabs.  It doesn’t mean that a blow may not hurt.  When I don’t feed it, it doesn’t stick.  It is fast removed from my psyche and discarded way faster than before.  Furthermore, as much as we are offended, we have offended.  How, then, do we want our treatment to be?

Us believers are way too comfortable operating in our flesh in that we do not earnestly go to God to help us close that loophole that gives the devil access to using us to offend others or to be easily offended or both.  In that way, that “little thing” in us that we do not think we need to change is being used by the enemy to wreak havoc.  The refusal to introspect by consulting with the Holy Spirit on the things we need to change daily continues to be fed by pride.

Lies:  the lies of the enemy are loud; so much so that we exalt the things that we are told about ourselves that do not reflect who God says we are.  The only way to kill the lies is to not feed it, and the only way to do that is to be so immersed in God’s Truth and to believe so that we are able to silence the voice of the accuser.

Unforgiveness:  we hurt others and others hurt us.  It is simply the way of life.  We are strongly encouraged, as contrite believers who are desperate to glorify God, to forgive fast.  Do not feed that which threatens our ability to love the Lord with all our hearts and to love others as we do ourselves.  Though forgiveness takes effort, it is very possible.  Just do it.

Unbelief:  Arguably, the opposite of faith is unbelief.  As believers, we are called to always operate in faith.  In fact, our belief that God sent His son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins is the premise on which our faith is formed.  Our prayer requires faith; obedience requires faith; forgiveness requires faith; all of what we do to glorify God requires faith.  His Word tells us many things that we must believe.  He is our shepherd; He will restore us; there is no condemnation or shame for those of us who serve Him; He gives strength to the weary; If we seek Him we will find Him.  His promises are crystal clear to us in Joshua 1: 7-8.

In our quest to become more Christlike, I am sure that there are many other things that we are called to “…not feed.”  Though this list is by no means exhaustive, we must know that to take on an identity rooted in Christ our focus must shift.  What we feed must shift so that forgetfulness, attachment to mistakes, unforgiveness, unbelief, offense, and lies, do not take root into shaping our mindset (literally and figuratively) and thwarting our purpose.