Open Mike

Years ago the Pastor that we were working under at the time decided to try something different during the Sunday Services.  Knowing that we had some very gifted individuals in our congregation and wanting to increase participation in the service, he had a live microphone placed in a stand at the base of the stairs leading up to the platform.  He explained that if someone in the congregation felt they had a word from the Lord at an appropriate time during the service that He wanted them to share with everyone, that they were to approach the head usher and inform him of their word and then take the mike and wait for the Pastor’s acknowledgement before they spoke it out.

This worked fine for a while until it became very apparent that the same one or two individuals would have a word every Sunday, and that their words (especially one of the two) did not always follow Paul’s guidance for prophetic utterance being “to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.” (I Corinthians 14:3 KJV)  Sometimes the words made no sense at all!  After talking privately to these individuals to no avail, the Pastor made another decision and quietly removed the mike thus ending the open mike process.

On Saturday the Lord reminded me of this example after sharing the revelation that He only watches over His Word to perform it as found in Jeremiah 1:12.  He had informed me that if He isn’t moved by words based on man’s reasoning than either should I.  He helped me to understand that the best way to not be affected by man’s words of reason was to not give them an open mike in my thoughts or with my mouth!  Just as the Pastor removed the open mike at the bottom of the stairs in order to stop the offending individuals and put an end to their opportunity to share words that came from their own reasoning and obviously not from God’ heart of encouragement, peace and love.

Papa God’s instructions to me made perfect sense as I pictured my frustration growing each time I rehearsed their words and my reaction to them over and over again in my head and talked about them to my wife!  It even made me laugh a little bit as I remembered a walk we took the other day when I was repeating some of these things over again to my wife when I suddenly stopped, thought about how she would have reacted to my repeated complaints a few years back and said to her. “You know… I bet you’re thinking that I just need to drop it and shut up, aren’t you!”  Ah… I should have listened to my own words!

I had a good friend tell me a few years ago that even though she is not able to freely communicate with me, Piper is still ministering to and talking to me in my heart!  If I had realized that during that walk, it would have saved me from self-inflicted harm!  But God got through to me anyway! 

What do you think about it?  Do you ever find yourself giving people’s negative words or actions an open mike into your life?  You know, their words don’t really affect them as much as the potential damage we can let them do to us.  They can only affect you if you speak them continually back into your life!  You and I have the ability to stop their power before they can gain any momentum by just letting them drop!  So turn off the mike!  Let go of that natural desire of wanting to give their negativity an audience.  Instead, give God’s Word the audience He desires.  When negative words and actions come forth against you, just walk up to the mike and speak out the words that really matter… His Words!

Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What or Whom am I expecting to give an OPEN MIKE to today?”