Watch Your Tone.

The same words or statements can be used to convey significantly different meanings. “Yeah, right!” is a good example of this. Stated with a compliant and cheerful attitude, these words convey cooperation and agreement. Throw in some sarcasm in the meaning is reversed. “Yeah, right!” now means that there is no way that is happening. Somewhere in the middle of these two statements would be adding a question mark. “Yeah, right?” implies hesitation and possible apprehension. There is a sense that the speaker desires to comply but is unsure of the outcome or his ability. The same two words are spoken each time. But three drastically different meanings are attached to each statement.

Do we sometimes approach the word of God in these ways? The Scriptures are full of promises the Father has for His children. Do we take these at face value and believe they mean exactly what is stated? What attitude do we have as we approach God’s word?

Like our example above, are we compliant and cheerful? Like young children do we take God’s word at face value, receiving it with joy? Jesus commands us to come as little children. “And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].” (Matthew 18:3 AMP)  We are to believe the promises of God simply because they come from our Father who loves us and never lies. ^“God is not a man, that He should tell or act a lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 AMP)

Or have we learned the fine art of sarcasm like so many of today’s teens? Are we skeptical of His promises? Is our willingness to believe dependent on what we see or hear from others? When we quit listening and wholeheartedly believing the words of our Father, we can truly become skeptical. The voice of the enemy and the circumstances of our lives are more than willing to convince us that God’s word is not true for us. The prodigal son left home full of arrogance and wrong ideas.  He had to come to a point of realizing that his father was a loving man before he was willing to return and receive that love. He returned home and found his father willing to give him more than he could imagine. (See Luke chapter 15)

Or do we find ourselves approaching God’s word with a questioning attitude. We want to believe that every promise is true for us. We are the adult who knows in his mind that the word is reliable. Yet past experiences and the logic of this world cause us to question. We may hesitate and even find ourselves apprehensive about stepping out into what God calls us. The apostle Peter walked on water until he saw the waves and considered the laws of physics that said men cannot walk on water. (See Matthew chapter 14) 

I have experienced all of these attitudes at different times during my 36 year walk with God. I went through a time when I was listening to the lies of the enemy and became like those Jesus spoke of. “But He said to them, Excellently and truly [so that there will be no room for blame] did Isaiah prophesy of you, the pretenders and hypocrites, as it stands written: These people [constantly]honor Me with their lips, but their hearts hold off and are far distant from Me.” (Mark 7:6 AMP) During this time I did not totally walk away from God, but I became very sarcastic of the words I did not see as true in my life. Because of the tone of my attitude, I became depressed and farther from God. I have also been the adult who truly wants to believe, but struggles with unbelief because of my past difficulties. 

The only sure solution to either of these is to follow Jesus advice and become like that little child. When doubt and unbelief crowd in and circumstances loom large, become that trusting child and run to your big Father who can do anything for you. He will take care of you and bring about your best. With a cheerful, trusting heart you can willingly say “Yeah! Right!” Dad has it covered.