The Unthought and The Unspoken

The Unthought and The Unspoken

This subject is going to be a little bit hard to wrap our minds around. How do you even begin to write about the Unthought or speak about the Unspoken? Let me explain...

There are ghosts of thought that haunt us throughout our lifetime that remain unspoken because they are Unthinkable. Let me explain...

There are Unthinkable things that we think but don’t think because they are so ingrained that we, although we haven’t thought them are, nonetheless there and have been with us from almost the very beginning... They are part of who we are and they are too scary to actually think so they remain Unthinkable and, in turn, remain Unspoken. Let me explain...

These are eery and odd thoughts, suggestions and feelings that stir fear and cause stress. They produce underlying baseline anxiety that flies under our radar. Some of them cause physical pain and some cause psychological pain and even panic. Others just cause a prevailing sense of unease, distrust and paranoia. Let me explain...

I know that you know what I am talking about because the Bible tells us that...

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV

OK, so we are all on the same page, right? Everyone up to speed? You might want to stop and meditate at this point because this is pretty intense stuff.

The Devil likes to operate in darkness. He (don’t you hate to use Satan’s personal pronoun at the front of a sentence and have to capitalize it?!) starts with us early, even before we know what is happening to us... in childhood. He plants these thoughts, feelings, suggestions and forebodings into our mental and psychological makeup so that we are fooled into thinking that they are part of us. Satan is very intelligent. He was the most intelligent being next to God himself before the fall and may still be. (I’m unsure about the other angels like Gabriel, Michael, etc... Since they are still with God and have His power available to them 24/7, I tend to believe that they are more powerful than Satan at this time) But what we do know is that we, as human beings, are no match for him in our own strength. We also know, or should know as Christians, that we can literally “do all things through Christ who strengthens us”. Knowing this helps, however, where he (Satan) is still operating in darkness, our hands are tied. These ‘dark’ things remain The Unknown and The Unspoken things of our lives that haunt and torture us daily or periodically.

So, how do we handle these things? Well, I believe that the best way to handle them is to drag them all out into the light! But (and I can almost hear the tension in your inner thoughts as I write this) how can we do this if these things are the Unknown and the Unspoken?! Well, you aren’t going to like this answer... Know them and Speak them! I told you that you weren’t going to like it.

5.This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
6.If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7.But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8.If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10.If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
I John 1: 5-10

So, how do we get rid of darkness in the shadowlands (the real world)? Well, we turn on the light. That’s all, but, If there is a closet in the room and we don’t open the door to the closet then no light can penetrate into that area. What we need to do is to realize that the closet exists and then open the door. As we clean out the closet more light permeates until the closet is perfectly clean and light permeates every part.

For the word of God is quick , and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 KJV
Where this analogy breaks down is that a man made light bulb can never permeate every part. God can...

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
James 1:17 KJV

Given that all this is true (and it is), what stops us from following through? There are different things that stop us. The obvious answer is that these things are Unknown so they remain Unspoken, even in our hearts. So, how do we come to know them? Two ways... The Living Written Word of God and The Living God, The Holy Spirit.

For the word of God is quick , and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12 KJV

OK, let’s suppose that we are willing to open our eyes to know these Unknown, Unspoken things and we depend on the Living Written Word of God to tell us about them and we are relying on The Living God, The Holy Spirit to bring spiritual revelation to our knowledge. Why do we, sometimes, balk and fail to verbalize or to speak the truth from our mouths into our lives?
That’s a good question and there are at least a few good answers to it.

One, Pride. Our flesh, that sin nature that dwells within, the Devils favorite beach head in our lives will hang on to these things until the cords that bind are severed. This is an operation for the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Too often we try to “handle it” by ourselves. The enemy loves it when we do this. He will just go deeper and veil himself as a “holy attitude” or a “religious conviction” or a “quirk of our personality”, etc... because our flesh is powerless to even perceive him and his work much less able to uproot him. If we sic the “holy” flesh on Satan these things will remain Unknown and Unspoken.

The Second reason that we, at times, don’t carry through with the process is Fear of Rejection or Peer Pressure. I’m going to make a statement here and I want you to mull it over before you decide to fire bomb my car or home... One of the worst places to ever bring something out of the dark into the light is at (are you ready for this?) Church! Many of you have experienced this. You are desperate to repent and the Holy Spirit has a hold of you and you need to ‘get it all out’ and ‘speak it’. You do. Somehow you get passed over the next time the Music Director chooses ‘saints’ to perform the special music. Maybe that Deacon appointment that was imminent just fades away without explanation. Maybe you are asked to be Youth Director and you start making plans knowing that God is in it and you are sitting in the congregation to hear someone else announced as the Your Director. You have just unknowingly pushed someone’s “holy flesh button” and they have effectively shut you out. I understand. I really do, It’s painful to be rejected just because you want to be transparent and learn to know and be like God, but it’s worth it! We are talking eternity here! Too often the Laodicean church of today tends to operate solely on a social/political level devoid of the Spirit and blind to spiritual things, relying not on the Holy Spirit but man’s fleshly religious/bureaucratic whim. That doesn’t mean that we have to look through these same spiritual glasses. Jesus says that He is standing at the door knocking and that if ‘any man’ opens the door that He will come in and sup with him and he with Him. What a wonderful promise! So, then, we don’t have to depend on man to define who we are. We can relax and let Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit define who we are. No one else has the right. No one else has the power (unless we give it to them). No one else has the wisdom, revelation knowledge or the intimate relational knowledge of our heart! In fact, we are not even capable of defining who we are. A committee of three, ONLY, have the right to define us! When we live in the light of this truth, darkness flees and we literally “Live in the Light as He is in the Light”. Hallelujah!!!

The Third way that I can think of that causes us to miss out on the wonderful blessings of Thinking the Unthinkable and Speaking the Unspeakable is Spiritual Bitterness. Remember the things that we just discussed regarding the Church? Many times we relate what happens at Church to our relationship with God. Just because God’s people do not treat us with love and respect does not mean that God thinks of us the same way. God accepts us and receives us unconditionally! He will not ever leave us, forsake us or shut us out. He is the one knocking! Jesus experienced all of these things in relationship to the “church” of his day, the Jewish Religious System and the Sanhedrin. Tradition, religious attitudes and ‘square peg in round hole-ism’ were all present in His day. In fact all of these things combined to kill Him. You know what? Maybe we ought to quit whining and move on, you think? Read this...

1.Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2.fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3.For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
4.You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin ;
Hebrews 12:1-4 KJV

Jesus endured all these things and much more. Paul, through these verses in Hebrews, is exhorting us to move on. In the light of eternity, he is exhorting us to keep our eyes on the ball so that we may achieve our main objective... to win the game. Not man’s game but the race that has been set before us by God Himself! Remember the movie “War Games” with Matthew Broderick? He, and his computer, ended up playing a computer game with the main defense computer of the DOD. He, at one point, asked the computer what its objective was. The computer answered... To win the game. Finally at the end of the movie he convinced WOPPER (the name of the computer) to play a game of Tic Tac Toe. The conclusion? The game is unwinnable! This one conclusion saved the whole world from nuclear annihilation. This is a great analogy for the religious games that man plays... They are truly unwinnable!! To come to this conclusion may just save you/me from spiritual deadness, ineffectiveness and for some spiritual annihilation!! So let’s run the race with patience, as Paul told us and... “Don’t become bitter at the religious folk”, Job might tell us. Just fix your eyes on Jesus; Paul chimes in. See who He really is and know Him so that you can pray for those who have religiously and spiritually abused you. Your fortunes will be restored, and, you know what? I’m not buyin’ it! The computer told a huge WOPPER! The game is winnable... in Him! “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

A Fourth thing that keeps us from recognizing and shedding the darkness is our Past History. As human beings we develop patterns in our lives. We do things a certain way because that’s just how we do them or we operate out of unique personalities. Sometimes these things are good and sometimes, bad. Many times they are morally neutral and it is what we think about the things we do that makes them good or bad.

19.Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
20.Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
21.It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22.So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
23.But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Romans 14:19-23 NIV

So, if we are brought up to believe certain things are wrong and we do them anyway, we are condemned in our own hearts which has the effect of keeping us in bondage. The only way to combat this is to know, believe and become doers of the truth...

31B. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
32.Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
John 8:31B-32 NIV

When we know and believe the truth it allows the dark things to be dragged into the light where they become Knowable and Speakable. When the truth is spoken into our lives to replace them, they are rendered ineffective. (even if some externally are still trying to jam our round soul into their square hole!) Here, again, NEVER let anyone define who you are except the Holy Trinity!
Listen to man; compare what he or she says to the scriptures; submit them to the Holy Spirit; Hear what He says and then go away from that Mirror knowing what sort of man or woman you are. No one has the right to define who you are except God! Got it?! Good.

The Fifth and final thing that I will mention that keeps us locked up inside is the enemy’s technique of Branding. Branding has been developed as a science in today’s society to sell more product, make more money and project “The Brand” as a ‘must have”. In a Branding campaign, the advertising agency focuses all of it’s resources that are given to the project on projecting the product to be superior in quality, therefore, causing other products, services or ideas to pale by comparison. Satan loves to Brand Christianity to Christians. He loves to hammer the message home to us time and again that we are what we have done, therefore, it has the effect of forcing us into a corner where there is never any relief, never any forgiveness and never any real release. One of the most effective Branding techniques is to pound the same message home time and time again. The ‘commercial’ may change but the tag line, jingle, and logo remains the same and what is job #1? Stay on message! Satan follows the script like a real advertising executive. Every failure that you have ever had will come at you and you will be internally Branded! How do we change this cycle of destruction? Just as in the ad biz... Rewrite the scripts, change the tag lines, create a new logo, compose a new jingle and stay on message!...

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 NIV

There is another kind of branding that occurs. We have really already touched on it. The religious folk love to rewrite your script, change your tag line, re-create your logo, force a new jingle upon you and boy do they stay on message!. The world will do this, too, but we expect that from them but when we are wounded by “friendly fire” the wounds are most painful!!



David experienced this...

1.Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;
2.hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
3.at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.
4.My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me.
5.Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.
6.I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest--
7.I would flee far away and stay in the desert; "Selah"
8.I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm."
9.Confuse the wicked, O Lord, confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.
10.Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.
11.Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
12.If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.
13.But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
14.with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God.
Psalms 55:1-14 NIV

Bottom line about branding... If you don’t allow God to Brand you, someone else will.

Just some examples of the inner attack of inner darkness...
Life isn’t worth living. We are just going to die.
The things that I do don’t matter, really.
All this is temporal anyway. Why put that much effort into this? No one will appreciate it.
God can’t love me. I’m just not good enough.
God never really meant for us to enjoy life, just to endure it.
I can’t go to Africa or to India to share the Gospel so my life isn’t important to God.
I don’t have the gift of evangelism and I can’t preach or sing so I’m useless.
People in my church don’t value me so, really, I am value-less.
No one would miss me if I were dead. What’s the use.

Here is a great passage of scripture, but, here is a warning... Do Not... and I repeat... DO NOT, allow any of these scriptures to become an indictment against you. If you haven’t experienced using any of these pieces of armor in the past, just read this scripture as a little child. Just admit to Father that you don’t understand. Admit to him that without Him you don’t stand a chance of understanding how to appropriate these defenses and weapons! He will come to you and He will interpret. Throw out ALL of the lists of ‘by the numbers’ approaches. Totally throw yourself upon the mercy of Father!! Relationship with Him is all we really have anyway. He will NOT let you down!!!


The Armor of God

10.Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11.Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes.
12.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14.Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate
of righteousness in place,
15.and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16.In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17.Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18.And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19.Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20.for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

In closing please allow me to mention again, what I perceive to be, the one point that I want you to go away with after having read this... NEVER let anyone define who you are except the Holy Trinity! Listen to man; compare what he or she says to the scriptures; submit them to the Holy Spirit; Hear what He says and then go away from that Mirror knowing what sort of man or woman you are. No one has the right to define who you are except God! Got it?! Good.

Larry Grizzle
04/22/2009