Shut the Front Door!
“Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” We’ve said that, but we didn’t mean it. Some words DID and DO hurt us! Someone spoke negatively about us when we gave something our all, or someone spoke ugly about one of our kids or family members. Or our mind is playing the same old record: “You’re not good enough. You’re not pretty or handsome enough. You’re not slim enough. You’re not smart enough.” But we don’t have to accept those words or let them into the doorway of our hearts and minds. We can close and lock those doors.
We have the opportunity every day to “Shut the front door!” I heard Kristin Chenoweth, as a judge on the “So You Think You Can Dance” show, give her remarks about the exquisite and inspiring dance by a young lady. She exclaimed “Shut the front door! Shut the back door! Shut the garage door! Shut them all!”
And that’s the message I’m conveying to you AND me today. It’s time to SHUT THE DOOR to those voices – the ones that say “You might as well give up. You’re going to fail again.” And to those that whisper in your ears “You’ll never outlast this setback!” Or, “You’re getting old. All those aches and pains are just going to get worse.” Or those inner voices that taunt you and say, “Those kids of yours are the most unruly, impolite, rowdy, and uncontrollable kids on this earth.” Or, “You’re never going to get that promotion!” On and on…..those voices that continue to get louder as they scream “FAILURE” in our heads.
Proverbs 4:23 says “More than anything you guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.” Actually, we should be guarding our minds like the army guards Fort Knox. Below the fortress-like structure of Fort Knox lies the gold vault that is protected by a blast-proof door weighing 20 tons and 21-inches thick and made of the latest torch-and-drill-resistant material. Members of the Depository staff must dial separate combinations known only to them. Beyond the main vault door, smaller compartments provide further protection. That’s the protection we should be providing for what we allow in our minds.
That scripture in Proverbs tells us to guard and protect our minds. We control the doorway to what we’re going to allow in. We have the “Master” filtering codes. We can dwell on every negative thing people AND the enemy of our souls have said, every derogatory comment, or we can choose to kick it out the door, then lock the door, and dwell on what God says about us.” Let’s shut the front door, the back door and ALL doors AND windows where the enemy likes to sneak in and infiltrate his lies and keeps trying to take us down with his nasty words of defeat and fear. WE ARE WINNERS — he’s the LOSER!! Now SHUT THOSE DOORS!!