Are You Focused on the Smoke Alarm or the Fire?

Over the last several months, we have worked with many business owners with our prayer teams and in SOZO sessions with individuals.  The consistent theme is that all these people have been really struggling with anxiety and continually going down rabbit trails with thoughts anchored in fear and anxiety.  At the core, these thoughts are not initiated with Jesus and the trail they lead you on does not include Jesus at all.  As a result, we try to work out the solutions on our own in isolation, typically at times like 3:30 am when you cannot resolve anything anyway.  These thought patterns should be like an alarm going off that I have veered away from a partnership with Jesus and am handling these ridiculous thoughts on my own.  We must focus on the core issues and not the thoughts.  Think of it this way, when the smoke alarm goes off, we don’t focus on the alarm, we hear the alarm and look for what has caused the alarm to be triggered.  THE FIRE!  In these rabbit trail thoughts loaded with anxiety and fear we spend way too much time focused on the alarm and not the fire.  

Jesus promises to essentially put these thoughts into captivity for us by what he did on the cross and how he has made us more that conquerors by His relationship with us.  II Cor. 10:3-7. Paul says in vs. 5 – “We can demolish every deceptive fantasy[e] that opposes God and break through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought[f] and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.” TPT  Captive = being held involuntarily because of a situation that makes free choice or departure difficult.  Whatever captures your attention is what sets the agenda in your life.  Jesus offers to move you from being held captive by thoughts and fears to partnering with him to put those same thoughts and fears into captivity and Jesus is in charge.  Jesus is the prison guard that makes these thoughts be obedient to Him.  It is not our responsibility to do this without Him.

We must recognize that the thoughts are not the problem, but they are an alarm going off that can lead us to the problem which is typically, “I am trying to work this out without Jesus” and have partnered with things that are just not true.  Invite Jesus into the mess.  Ask Him what He sees that needs to change and what He has for you instead of the thoughts causing the alarm to go off.  Have Him show you what is causing the fire and what He would like you to give over to Him so there is no more fire.  This can be beliefs, unforgiveness, or faulty agreements made.  Relinquish these things over to Jesus and invite Him to show you what He wants you to have instead and what you and Jesus get to think and do together moving forward.  Take Jesus up on what He promised to do and realize that you have the mind of Christ, so you should be able to think really well with Him.  

Here are two other resources from the Co-Labor site that are fun:

Blake Schellenberg – Co-Labor Ministries