The Power of Saying it Out Loud
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Have you ever been struck by a feeling of angst, the source of which is completely unknown? “What the heck is the matter with me?” runs through your mind. You try to "snap out of it," but no go. It's still there. Sometimes I can assess and figure out such a dilemma within minutes. Other times moments can turn into days before I’m able to acknowledge my lack of peace, provoking the question, “What in the world is causing me to feel this way?” It’s then that I must stop, look within in an attempt to identify my emotions and events of past hours or days.
A popular belief that has been emphatically taught for decades in Christian circles is that emotions are undependable, even downright deceptive and bad. It has been believed that they not only cause us to make bad choices, but can even lead to apathy and laziness, distancing us from God. We are told, "Ignore your feelings! Go beyond your feelings!", or my personal favorite, "If you depend on your feelings, you'll never get close to God!" I wholeheartedly disagree.
Emotions are God’s way of allowing us to take the “temperature.” Emotions aid in discernment and are often God’s way of grabbing our attention. When properly identified, they allow us to look deep within, seeking revelation and guidance. Tracing our emotions can help us know when He is speaking or what He's showing us to do. Emotions are an incredible resource.
God also uses our emotions to force us to articulate what it is that we want from Him, as quite often we don't even know what we want, as we’ve never taken time to discover what "it" is. God desires for us to have the type of relationship with Him in which we don't hesitate in communicating our needs and desires. In fact, He's given us an open invitation to do so.
But could this communication be more effective if we take it a step further and voice these needs out loud? Is there something magical about it? Does He want us to get off the merry-go-round of passive aggression, and stop expecting others, especially Him - to read our minds? And why does He need us to tell Him in the first place, if He already knows exactly what we need or want?
With this in mind, I’m drawn to an account of Jesus and a blind man in Mark, Chapter 10:51-52. Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho, when a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside, begging. When he realized who was passing by, he began crying out, “Jesus! Have mercy on me!” Those around told him to be quiet! I'm sure they thought of him as a great nusience, an embarrassment even. Nevertheless, Jesus stopped, and directly asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Despite his blindness, Bartimaeus possessed extreme clarity, as he was in tune with what was going on around him - much more so than those with sight. His homework was complete, as he had taken the time to navigate through his emotions, needs, challenges and desires, in preparation of a possible scenario involving him and the only One who had the power to give him what he wanted. He was ready to not hold back and say it out loud.
“Rabbi, I want to see,” he responded without hesitation. Jesus’ response? “Go, your faith has made you well.” And immediately blind Bartimaeus received his sight.
Did Jesus heal Bartimaeus because Bartimaeus knew what he wanted? Maybe...which causes me to ask…Do I know what I want? Am I convinced that Jesus is the only One who can get it for me? Am I willing to cry out to Jesus, even when others tell me to be quite? Do I have enough faith to put it out there, confidently asking, even expecting, Jesus to deliver? Does my faith even somewhat resemble that of a blind beggar man who was despised and thought to be a nuisance? Am I willing to ask for the impossible? Would I say it out loud?
Is there some type of “power” or “magic” in our saying it out loud? Does saying it out loud cause our faith to increase, if for no other reason than, well, it’s “out there”? Not unlike the manner in which we “expect” our spouses to read our minds, Bartimaeus could have done the same, refusing to voice his needs and desires, expecting Jesus to just know what he wanted. But instead, he exercised his faith, coming confidently and boldly to the One who possessed all power and authority. With this in mind, I think Bartimaeus knew who he was…a child of God.
In our own lives, the ability to boldly ask can go back to our choosing to live as either Children of God who possess direct access to their Father, or orphans, who are unclaimed and unheard. Children of God know that they are loved, provided for and wanted. They are confident in their position and inheritance. When we choose to live this way, we are secure in the fact that we have a Dad that not only loves us without reservation, but wants to hear from us, speak to us, and lavishly give good gifts to us. We don't hesitate in letting Him know what we want.
Yet too often we live as orphans taken in by a substitute Benefactor, who may or may not keep us permanently. We’re afraid to ask too much, petrified that we might be too much trouble. We avoid even allowing ourselves to determine what it is that we need and want, for fear of being disappointed, resulting in our being frustrated, feeling helpless, and even becoming dysfunctionally passive-aggressive, complete with heavy dose of self-pity. When this occurs, we loose our ability to dream.
God chose you. He didn’t get stuck with you. For way too long I lived like a child who was the last to get chosen for a game of kickball, dreading the words, “I guess we’ll take Cammie.” I actually transferred this belief to the way I believed God felt about me – that He got stuck with me. Breaking this lie brought a most powerful transition in my life – that of no longer living as an orphan, but as a child of God. No longer was I someone who God had to take in, but someone that He chose to be his child. Just like blind beggar man who lived thousands of years ago. Just like you.
So, as a chosen child of God, do you know what you want? Can you say it out loud? It’s possible by simply doing the following:
Articulate it.
Ask yourself questions. Dream and determine! Don’t hold back!
Determine if it aligns with Scripture
God’s Word is our compass. He loves us too much to give us something that isn’t for our benefit.
Write it down
This simple action greatly activates our faith!
Say it out loud (to Him and possibly others as well)
Be bold! Be confident! He’s your Daddy, for goodness sake. Don’t hold back!
Step back, rest, and expect.
Let Him be Who He is – the God of the Universe that knows what we need and when to give it to us.
We're no longer orphans. We're His children. Just say it out loud.
Much love - Cammie
