LOUD NOISES

     I love this clip – it makes me laugh out loud every time!  Have you ever experienced your mind making a lot of loud noises?  Saying things to you that no one else can hear?  Trust me when I say that those noises/voices can be very loud at times and almost impossible to ignore.

     Remember a few weeks ago in class when Dr. Corsini asked us to sit in silence for a few minutes and hang out with God?  Well, it ended up being a frustrating time for me personally because my mind (part of the “immaterial me”) would not shut up.  It kept talking and reminding me of things that I was not supposed to be thinking about in light of the instructions that were given.  I found myself asking God to mute my thoughts, but it never happened (I’m not blaming God for that one).  I was so frustrated with myself, but it wasn’t like I was thinking anything improper or sinful – I just couldn’t focus on the task at hand. 

     My mind talks a lot (I really hope someone just said “mine does, too”).  Sometimes the things it says are no big deal: daydreaming, thinking about Friday while it’s only Monday, singing random songs about pick-up trucks and sweet ice tea, etc.  Other times, the noises can be damaging and defeating: reminders of past sins, reminders of early life failures, and comparing myself to other people.  The list could go on for a while.  All of us have noises in our mind that cause pain and anguish and they really can be damaging and defeating.  What can we do about those loud noises?  Additionally, what do we, as potential counselors, tell clients who come in asking us to help them overcome their noises?

     I understand that I am not yet professionally ready to sit across from another human being and tell them how they can overcome their damaging thought life.  However, I can share some areas where God has been at work in my life since that particular day in Dr. Corsini’s court room – I mean class.

     Knowing that my thoughts can be unhealthy and deceitful at times, it is important for me to develop some specific disciplines in this particular area.  It is easy for me to just sit and entertain certain thoughts without doing a single thing to fight or overcome them – I am lazy!  I am tired of allowing these voices to grow louder and louder so that they affect my relationship with God, with my family, with my friends, and in my witness to other individuals.

     I really appreciated what Dr. Hart had to say about meditation in his book, “The Anxiety Cure”.  Of course, we are all aware that there are different kinds of meditation out there today for people to experience, but Dr. Hart talks about Christian Meditation (CM). He describes CM as “the action of the Holy Spirit within the soul of the believer, releasing the presence of God to be felt and experienced down to the very marrow of every bone that brings healing” (p. 241).  I cannot overcome and rid my mind of these negative noises on my own.  I desperately need the Holy Spirit to intervene in order to be victorious in this particular battle. Meditation allows me the opportunity to seek the face of God through silence or prayer, reading or singing.  It’s about taking time to be with Him and Him alone, to be in His Word and to know what He has to say about me and my sins and my past failures.  Knowing God’s Word fills my mind with truth. Truth is a very powerful thing.  Truth brings victory, freedom, confidence, and hope.  Truth will silence the loud noises.  Jesus Christ is the Author of truth and we must seek Him constantly – for our sake and for the sake of those we will minister to one day as professional counselors.

     “…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.  For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”  Romans 12:2,3 (NIV).