As I write this, Halloween is just a day away and we are making preparations for the costumed horde to swoop in for all the “fun size” treats we have to offer in hopes to dissuade the “tricks” that are promised without them. Perhaps more than ever this year, I have seen adults in costumed glory for a number of weeks before the official Halloween designation. I was startled to see a woman a week ago wearing a bumblebee outfit striding across a gas station lot and thought to myself, “This isn’t even Walmart.”
Monsters and superheroes, celebrities and politicians all make for cute and fun events, except when they spill over where they are not wanted. Do you remember monsters under your bed at night? Or boogie men in your closet? I remember being terrified to let my leg out from under the covers lest a scaly, long-fingernailed hand grab it and snatch me out from my bed to be dragged underneath never to be heard from again. I never thought why the covers were such a safe haven from such things, but I suppose those things are just understood in the juvenile mind. Aren’t you glad that we grow up and the “monsters” leave us? Except when they don’t.
Too often, the monsters leave the dust bunny farms under our beds and take up residence between our ears. Mind monsters, you might say. They whisper fearful things to us, weakening our confidence and causing us to fear failure before we even try. You’ve heard the voice of a mind monster if you have ever heard something like, “You aren’t that smart,” or, “You always do the wrong thing.” The message may be a little different, but they all stem from the same place. They essentially are saying, “You are not enough.” Isn’t that what we really fear?
The truth is, that through Christ, we are enough. When we have relationship with Jesus we can face the mind monsters and expose their lying messages. Remember the monsters under the bed or in your closet? When your parents came into your room and turned on the LIGHT, they instantly disappeared. Light always wins. Sometimes a night light kept them at bay from then on.
So it is with the monsters that live in our heads. When we shine the light of truth on them, those voices begin to fade. When we believe the truth, we have the ability to shut down the voices that tell us that we are not enough. Listen to this bright light of truth:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Hear that? “If God is for us (which He is), who can be against us?” In other words, God tells us that with Him, we are enough. We are smart enough. We are pretty enough. We are brave enough. That is the One voice we need to hear every time the mind monsters show up. The more you shine God’s light on them, the more they will go away.
By the time you read this, Halloween 2018 will have been over for two days. All the little spooks and superheroes will have their sugar cravings sated and you’ll be safe for another year, but just in case, leave a night light on.
Stephen Brown is the Lead Pastor of Kenai New Life and has celebrated 30 years of ministry in Kenai.
