Recently it occurred to me how many worthless conversations I’ve had. I’m not talking about those with other people, well at least not in person with them. I’m talking about the conversations that I play and replay in my mind that I think I will have with someone! It could even be a replay of past events that continue to rob me of time better spent.
Those conversations are fruitless.
Those conversations are a waste of my time, which means I’m wasting God’s time. If only I’d spent all that time praying, what a difference there would have been in my life, and perhaps in the lives of others.
But God is so very patient and longsuffering, and He shows me how to deal with those conversations in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
I must take all my worthless conversations captive. In their place, I must change my thinking so that it honors Christ.
What this means is that when I’m having one of those worthless conversations, one of those conversations where I one-sidedly determine what I will say and how the other person will respond, that I need to STOP. I need to ASK God for help to redirect my thinking.
For instance, perhaps the conversation is to deal with an offense that I perceive someone has made against me.
Instead of a worthless conversation [in my head] with the person, I talk to the One who can help both of us work out the situation.
God’s Word provides me with further guidance:
Romans 12:17-19: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”
How can I obey these commands?
I can ask God to show me the root issue in the situation.
If I truly have been wronged, then it is wise to allow God to avenge me. In the rare situations where I must take a role in working out the situation in person, God will guide me when I seek Him. He will help me stay away from worthless conversations.
I need to try to have an understanding of where the other person is coming from. I need to have God help me to show mercy. After all, I want Him to show me mercy for the rest of my life, just as He has been doing.
These verses give me further help in how my attitude and perspective should be:
“Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 [I am a sinner, and God wants me to show mercy rather than righteous indignation.]
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6 [What an amazing promise! I want God’s blessings, and they come as I show mercy to others.]
“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13 [I’m better off showing mercy, and leaving judgment to God.]
I also need to prepare for worthwhile conversations.
What I need to be asking God to guide me with is if I should even have a conversation with the person about the situation, rather than attempting to work out all the details of that conversation in my head.
In Matthew 10:19: “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,”. God directly tells His followers that reliance upon the Holy Spirit will result in being given the words to say. They needed to focus on Him, and He would provide what was necessary. God will also do this when we need to have a challenging conversation with someone.
I don’t have to think about and replay a prepared conversation in my mind. I need to seek God.
What I’ve found, is that when I have these worthless conversations, they prove to be that – worthless! Most of the time the conversations never take place, and the times they do occur, God takes me in a direction I hadn’t expected.
Time spent praying and reading God’s Word is far more productive than having worthless conversations. God brings worthwhile conversations when I seek Him. Worthwhile conversations honor our great God, and that is my desire.
The other side is addressing the worthless conversations regarding past events. Those, “I should have said this or that” thoughts that rob us of God’s peace. We address them in the same way we do the planned worthless conversations.
I have found that the more I do this, the quicker I am to pray about the situation, and the quicker God’s peace overtakes my thoughts.
Do you suffer with the syndrome of worthless conversations playing and replaying in your mind? You too can join me in taking those “conversations” captive to Christ.
This starts with you having a personal relationship with Jesus. I’d be thrilled to talk with you about establishing a true relationship with our living God. Jesus loves us, and that is why He came to earth, and died on the cross. Praise God He rose again, and is seated at the Father’s right hand, advocating for us! If you are not ready to meet Him when you die, or when He returns, please seriously consider talking with someone who truly loves Jesus. You don’t want to be on the wrong side when this life ends and the New Heaven and New Earth are ushered in.
Please contact me at: ButGodCares@gmail.com if you want to talk about Jesus, and worthwhile conversations.
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
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Copyright 2023 Donna Shappy All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other – without the prior permission of the author.