Have you ever sat in a room and heard nothing but gossip and complaining about others? Maybe people you care about, acquaintances, family, or even a random stranger, and felt that dark pit in your stomach that makes you want to puke? It doesn’t have to involve you or be about you, but it still bothers you. (Speaking on life in general)
Normally, that is who I am. I sit there, I don’t engage, and normally I’m the first one to speak up and say, “Listen Linda, let’s rethink and reframe this mindset.” I think it’s so easy in moments of frustration and anger for people to forget that we are all people, created by the exact same God.
But recently, I went through a season where I felt like every single door I stepped through, this was going on. And guess what? I slowly found myself doing what everyone around me was doing. (Yep, even the “Listen Linda” girl slipped into the mud. Yikes.)
I had not just one situation, but a whole buffet of heavy situations piling up all at once—family, friends, life, personal stuff, and one of my kids. I felt like I was drowning. When you’re drowning under that kind of weight, your defenses drop, and complaining suddenly feels like a cheap life raft.
Now, I have people who turn to me for advice or wisdom, or they ask what my “Spidey senses” are feeling—my discernment, which lately has been almost spot on. For some, my simple answer is: “You need Jesus in your life.” I don’t say that to sound rude or snarky; I say it with the most genuine heart. It is so hard to explain what it feels like to be in a real relationship with God to someone who hasn’t experienced it the way I have, (Honest truth? Someone said this same thing to me years ago before I gave my heart to Jesus and stepped into this journey) And recently, I got to experience that dry, heavy feeling all over again because I wasn’t 100% in my relationship with Him. And let me tell you, it was not a good time for me.
After a few months of this drifting, I found myself in my living room by myself. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was on the TV, and suddenly I felt my heart drop.
I fell to my knees right under the TV while the “Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog” dance was playing in the background (because of course God would pick the most chaotic toddler soundtrack for my spiritual breakdown), and I began to cry. Not just a cute little single tear—I was ugly-sobbing uncontrollably. Red face, runny nose, the whole nine yards.
In a loud whisper, I began telling God, “I’m tired of this. Take this from me.” I just started talking away. I told Him all my problems, how I felt, what scared me, and what I was needing from Him. I stayed there on the floor for about 2 to 3 hours. I so desperately needed that alone time with Him.
By the end of it, I felt a total shift in my mind and my heart. The wisdom that came out of that living-room floor moment has been so helpful and refreshing. Our God is so good!
Despite all the different situations I was dealing with at once, the ultimate cause of it all was that I was listening to other people’s thoughts and opinions instead of God’s. It was like I forgot how to think for myself. I think it’s easy for us as people to take on so much and get so overwhelmed that we just shut down and let the noise take over. That was me—whoops!
Out of that breakdown, I was reminded of a few hard truths:
- Obedience isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes obeying where God leads me isn’t fun and doesn’t feel good in the moment. I don’t need to understand it; I just need to listen and do it. It doesn’t have to make sense right now, because I know in time it will. God would never lead me somewhere bad.
- Other people’s opinions are out of my control. I can only control myself. I have zero control over what another person thinks, feels, wants, or needs. All I can offer is a response back through a different lens, and it’s completely up to them what they do with it.
- My identity is anchored. I used to find it very easy to become frustrated or upset when someone responded with ugly behavior, pettiness, pushback, or even severed a relationship over hearing the truth. But I have come to realize my identity is in Christ and Christ alone—not in what the world thinks, and not in what others classify or label me as.
(Literally as I am writing this exact sentence, my phone just chimed with a Bible notification. You can’t make this up! It popped up with Matthew 5:44—”But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” Talk about God confirming what He just taught me! When people push back or act out, our job isn’t to fight back—it’s to love them and pray for them.)
A Challenge for You: The 31-Day Wisdom Reset
If you’re sitting in the noise today, drowning in everyone else’s opinions or slipping into habits you thought you left behind—take it from me. Drop to your knees, drop the heavy weight, and get back into God’s Word.
My absolute favorite book in the Bible to go to when I need a reality check is Proverbs. Fun fact: there are 31 chapters in Proverbs, which makes it the absolute best month-long study!
Here is my challenge to you: Take on a 31-day study and read one chapter each day. Take notes, study it, write out your questions, write what you understand, and write what you don’t quite get. Then, pray after you read and ask God to clarify or better explain it to you. He will.
Let’s stop letting the world’s noise do the thinking for us. God’s wisdom is so much better anyway!
The Ultimate Conclusion: Choosing Love and Forgiveness
To love means to forgive yourself, to reveal your heart even to people who could wound it, and to think about the needs of others before our own. This kind of love isn’t easy—but it’s how Jesus loves us, and it’s how we reflect His love to a world in need.
We will never fully agree with everyone. We won’t understand everyone. We will always find things to “agree to disagree on,” and people will inevitably hurt us. But Jesus’ command to love wasn’t reliant on our feelings or circumstances.
So, if we want to see the world radically transformed, we must learn to set our differences aside and choose His way—even when it’s hard.
Here is the prayer that has been on my heart during this season:
God, I’m choosing to forgive them—the people who’ve caused me pain, the ones who have wronged and betrayed me. I forgive them because You have forgiven me. Transform their lives like You have transformed mine. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Let’s be known by our identity in Christ, not by the rooms we let drown us in noise.
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