Change the Channel

In the quiet and stillness of an autumn night, I heard the cry of a little boy coming from his bedroom, “Daddy! Daddy!” As I walked toward the room of an 8-year-old boy, decorated in all things Star Wars, Superman, Batman, and Aquaman, I could hear the sniffles and whimpers. My heart swelled with emotion as I opened the door and heard a frightened little boy cry out, “Daddy! You came!”

He had a nightmare. More accurately, a bad dream. He told me about all of the “Creepy stuff” that had flooded his subconsciousness as he passed the night away under the ever-changing glow of the Darth Vader night light. Most likely all of the creepy stuff had entered his mind from a video that he had watched earlier in the week on his iPad without permission. The discipline for watching the moderately scary flick with a giggling clown had been doled, but the consequences were (are) long lasting.

As I consoled him by rubbing his head, scratching his back, and telling him he was safe, my mind went to a helpful thought that I often had growing up. I can still hear the man in Sunday School telling me to “Change the channel”. The principle comes from Philippians 4:8 which states, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

The purpose of the principle to “Change the Channel” is to think thoughts that would not lead us to dark places and ultimately to fear. Our minds can do some strange and cruel things to us. One minute you are happy, jovial, and everything is light. The next thing you know you are thinking dark, unsafe, and sad thoughts. I think this is the product of 2 different forces at work.

One reason we think dark, negative, unsafe thoughts that lead to fear is because we have believed the lies that The Liar, Satan has told us. John 10:10 tells us that Satan’s singular objective is to “steal and kill and destroy”. How does he do that? By gaining the foothold on the battlefield of your mind. He wants you to believe the lies of the world. Lies that will steal your joy, kill your peace, and destroy your hope. He wants to break you and take what belongs to you.

The other reason why we think these thoughts that can take us down a dark, winding road is because we’ve believed the lies we’ve told ourselves. Far too often, you and I have told ourselves things about ourselves that just aren’t true. “You aren’t good enough.” or “No one cares about you.” or “If they really knew you, there’s no way they could love you.” All of these thoughts that we’ve dwelt on for so long aren’t just not true, they are blatant lies!

So what to do about the problem? How do we fix the anxiety, fear, depression, anger, bitterness, hatred, and confusion that has riddled our mind and stolen our joy? Well, I’m not saying this is a fix-all, easy installment approach, but I think it starts with “Changing the Channel.” It starts by thinking differently.

When we allow ourselves to be consumed by these thoughts of inadequacy, we are missing the truth that we are made in the image of God and He gave His Son Jesus to redeem us to Himself. When we settle for the lie that no one cares, we are missing the reality that so many people around us and the God that created us love and care about us. When we worry about people knowing who we really are, we are forgetting that God knows who we are in our deepest parts and still loves us like crazy. When we chose to believe these lies that Satan, the World, and the Flesh have told us, we aren’t thinking true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, or commendable thoughts.

Will this “Change the Channel” thing happen over night? Of course not. It’ll take practice, effort, and consistency. My son, now 9, often reminds me to “Change the Channel!” when he is thinking scary thoughts or when there’s an iffy situation that might cause me or him some measure of anxiety. And that’s just it! I struggle too, with keeping my thoughts safe. So I need the reminder from my 9-year-old to “Change the Channel” sometimes. John 10:10 ends with Jesus’ words, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Christ wants to give us life that can be lived to the fullest in Him.

I leave you with the words from the Apostle Peter, “⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. ⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:6-8)