Am I Believing the Truth?

Lately, I have been worrying.

And by lately, I might as well admit that I mean the past 23 years! (That is how long I have had kids, if you need an explanation for the odd number!) Worrying and motherhood have pretty much gone hand-in-hand for me.

But I am so good at worrying that I not only worry about my kids and their safety. I can worry about other things too!

I am also very talented at worrying about finances.

I am an expert at worrying about the demise of a major appliance or car (probably because I am so good at worrying about finances.)

I am extraordinarily gifted at worrying about my abilities (or more accurately, my inabilities) as a homeschool Mother. And I am also gifted at the follow-on worry of how messed up my children will be because of my shortcomings.

What About Faith?
I have a problem though. My worrying and my faith can often butt heads. I mean, they get along so poorly, I can't even have them in the same room.

My worry thinks up the worst thing that could happen.
My faith announces that my God has future, hopeful plans for me. (Jer. 29:11)

My worry convicts me of how I have failed in parenting.
My faith remembers that my God will finish all the good work He has begun in my children. (Phil. 1:6)

My worry sends the reminder to me almost daily of the things we need to purchase that we cannot afford.
My faith proclaims that my God will supply all my needs. (Phil. 4:19)

My worry makes dire predictions about the future.
My faith divulges that the Alpha and Omega has both the beginning and the end under control. (Rev. 22:13)


This weekend God used two incredibly divergent mediums to convict me of the uselessness of these diametrically opposed messages that I live with daily.

1.  The first was on Saturday when we watched the movie, The Man Who Never Was, which is about how the British made up fictitious papers, put them on a dead soldier, and planted him in a German controlled area to try and communicate the idea that the Allies were going to invade somewhere else than Sicily (which is where they were going to invade.) If the Germans bought the lie and moved even some of their troops then many Allied soldiers would be spared.

(On an aside- it was a great movie, if you like understated, suspenseful, British movies that don't have cars chasing each other and buildings blowing up.)

2.  The second was on Sunday morning at church when we sang the song, "Whose Report Will You Believe" which is an older song and one I hadn't sang in a very long time. The lyrics are:

Whose report will you believe?
We will believe the report of the Lord!
His report says I am healed.
His report says I am filled.
His report says I am free.
His report says victory!


So how did a movie that was made in 1956 and a song written in 1989 come together for me in 2012?

The Conclusion
The question from the song struck me.

Whose report DO I believe?

Am I like the Nazis in the movie and believe the lie?
Do I change my behavior based upon the bait my enemy waves in front of my face?

There was a reason the Nazi's finally believed the lie. The British Secret Service were REALLY GOOD LIARS. They thought through every contingency and followed through with multiple layers of lies.

And I am faced with a really good liar too. I am faced with the father of lies! (Jn. 8:44)

So when my worry is an antithesis to my faith, which am I going to listen to?
I will give you three guesses...(and since there are only two options to begin with, this really shouldn't be that hard!)

WORRY, listen up!
I am not listening to you any more.

Whose report will I believe instead?
I WILL BELIEVE THE REPORT OF THE LORD!