Algorithms

Ever noticed how if you click on a topic that you're interested in on social media, suddenly you get sent post after post about that very topic. In fact, the more interest you show, the more posts that show up in your feed until suddenly that's all you see. What was there before has been replaced by the inundation of new posts vying for your attention. Where did your previous interest go?

Sometimes we get blindsided feeling like our faith "suddenly" got dry or doubts crept in. We wake up one day and don't have the same fire in us to pursue Christ. We feel like we had one too many "let-downs" and can't muster up the determination to keep faith alive. If we take an honest look, we can see certain "algorithms" started to replace the bedrock of our faith. Things like spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible reading, fasting, etc. got replaced with other "pressing" things to do. Also, the "algorithms" of what we tell ourselves, those repeating tapes in our head," morphed into the words of who the world tells us we should be. Instead of living for an audience of One, our Creator and Redeemer, we began listening to the voices around us. The still, small voice of the Holy Spirit got snuffed out by the competitive voices of acclaim and success or displeasure and failure.

How do we get back into right rhythm? We set the "algorithms" in our lives back in order. What do we listen to and absorb into our consciousness, soul and spirit? Set the algorithms we hear so they speak God's truth to us. Weed out any algorithms that take us away from God. Replace algorithms that turn our faces away from God and set the algorithms to embrace the things of God, especially when it comes to what we believe about ourselves. Believe truth. How do you know it is true? Make sure it aligns with the Word of God.

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8