Can I tell you something that's changed my life? Just because you think something doesn't make it true. You know, that sounds obvious, right? Until you realize how much of your life is controlled by thoughts you've never questioned. Have you ever noticed how fast your mind fills in the blanks? Your boss comes to you and says, "Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" And immediately you think, "Uh-oh, what did I do wrong?" Or maybe a friend didn't text you back as quick as you wanted them to. "Uh-oh, they must be upset with me." Or someone else gets the opportunity, and immediately your mind goes to, "I guess I'm not good enough," or, "One mistake, I always mess things up," or, "One bad day, I'm failing." And it's amazing how quickly our minds become storytellers. And if we're not careful, those stories quietly become our reality. Not because they're true, but because we've rehearsed them so many times that they feel true. But feelings aren't facts. Thoughts aren't always truth. And just because a voice is familiar doesn't mean it's trustworthy. And that's what I wanna talk to you about today Welcome to Pilot Light. I am your host, Josh. You know, most people are not looking for another self-help podcast. They're looking for a reminder, a reminder of who they are, a reminder of what matters, a reminder that their story is not over. So wherever you're listening from, whether you're driving to work or you're looking for the TV remote that's somehow been in your hand for the last five minutes, or you're standing in a checkout line wondering how buying just a few things somehow became a second mortgage. I'm looking at you, Costco. Anyway, I am really glad you're here. Let's light the pilot light I've had conversations with thousands of people over the years. Friends, coworkers, people at church, people I've worked with, family. And one thing has become incredibly clear. Most of us aren't fighting other people nearly as much as we're fighting ourselves. The loudest conversations in our lives usually happen where nobody else can hear them, inside our own minds. I have had seasons where one negative thought could hijack an entire day. You know, maybe you've experienced that. One comment, one mistake, one criticism, one awkward conversation, and suddenly your mind starts building a case. "You should have said this," or, "They probably think you're incompetent," or, "You're falling behind," or, "You always do this." And by lunchtime, you are literally emotionally exhausted, not because of what actually happened, but because of the story your mind created around what happened. And I remember realizing one day I wasn't reacting to reality, I was reacting to my interpretation of reality, and that's a huge difference. I remember having a conversation with my wife about a certain situation that was going on, and it was one that it was kind of emotionally charged. And I'm gonna tell you this real quick that I, I am so thankful for my wife, because usually you marry someone who's kind of the opposite of you, and that's the case for me, where I can see things and create stories in my head. My wife is very much black and white, and she's like, "Just stick to the facts." And so going to her for this really kind of charged, emotional thing, and as I'm having a conversation with her, she's able just to kind of break it down into what the facts are, and immediately, all of a sudden this huge thing that was going on in my mind all of a sudden shrunk down to the realities of what I was looking at. And it's amazing how just perspective can change how we feel about a situation. And I'm just gonna tell you, guys, it's really important. Listen to your wives. I know that they think differently than you, but it can be your greatest asset. And before all the wives out there are going, "Amen! Yes, tell him! Come on!" Uh, it goes both ways, too. I think we all need to kind of listen to each other, and we can feed off of each other's wisdom in situations to have a better perspective. Anyway, because of that, there was a day I asked myself a question that I had never asked before, and that question was, "Who says?" Seriously, who says I'm not enough? Who says everyone is disappointed? Who says I'm failing? Who says I'll never change? Who says this mistake defines me? Most of the time, I, I couldn't answer because the loudest critic in my life was often me, and that's when I realized something. Not every voice deserves authority I want you to get that point. Not every voice deserves authority. So here's the big idea. Here's what I've learned. The voice in your head has influence, but it doesn't automatically have credibility. I want you to think about that. Just because a thought enters your mind doesn't mean it deserves to stay there. Your mind produces thousands of thoughts every single day. Some are helpful, some are harmful, some are true, some are lies wrapped in familiar language. Wisdom isn't believing everything you think. Wisdom is learning to evaluate your thoughts before you believe them. The Bible talks about taking every thought captive. Because unchecked thoughts become beliefs. Beliefs become habits. Habits become identity. And that's why this matters. So here's my first point. Your brain hates uncertainty. Your brain is constantly trying to make sense of the world. When information is missing, guess what? It will fill in the blanks. The problem is, it often fills them with fear. Someone doesn't respond, well, they're upset. Someone walks past you, they're ignoring me. Your boss looks serious, uh-oh, I'm in trouble. Notice what happened. No facts, just assumptions. Our minds would rather create a painful story than sit with uncertainty. But assumptions make terrible foundations. Here's my second point for us today. Repeated thoughts become beliefs. Have you ever noticed how repetition creates familiarity? Think about advertising for a moment. The more you hear something, the more believable it feels. Our own minds work the same way. If you repeat, "I'm not enough," long enough, eventually you will stop questioning it. You'll simply just accept it. And that's why we have to become aware of our internal conversations, because we're always listening to ourselves. The question is, are we listening to truth or simply listening to repetition? Here's my favorite point, point number three: Jesus consistently returned to truth. One of my favorite moments in scripture is when Jesus is tempted in the wilderness Every temptation begins with a lie or a distortion or a question designed to create doubt. And every single time, catch this, Jesus responds the same way. It wasn't with emotion, it wasn't with fear, it was with truth. I want you to think about that. Truth wasn't his last resort. You know, I can sit there and go, I, I can run into a situation and all of a sudden my emotions are going crazy and I'm filling in the blanks, and all of a sudden I'm fearful with things. And the last thing that I run into is truth. But Jesus started with truth. It wasn't his last resort. It was his first response. And maybe that's our invitation too, not to ignore our thoughts, but to examine them, to measure them against what's true. Can I ask you a few questions today? What's the loudest voice in your head right now? Pause and I want you to think about that. What's the loudest voice in your head right now? Some of you might be going, "It's you, Josh. You're the loudest voice in my head right now because you're on my radio or Spotify or Apple Podcast," whatever it may be. Okay, I get that. But what's the other loudest voice in your head right now? What sentence keeps repeating itself? Where did it come from? And would you say those words to someone that you love? Would you say those words to someone you love? Would God say those words to you? Or have you simply become accustomed to listening to a voice that doesn't deserve authority? Because the quality of your life is deeply connected to the quality of the story you're believing. Let me say that one more time for you because I need you to understand this, and you've noticed that all these podcasts are leading in the same direction. I am doing these things purposely to help build you as we're growing through this process. This, these are things I am building in myself as well. But I want you to understand this. The quality of your life is deeply connected to the quality of the story that you're believing. So here's my challenge. This week, I want you to interrupt one negative thought every single day. When it shows up, I don't want you to argue with it. I want you to question it. I want you to ask yourself, "Is this fact or fear? Is this truth or assumption? Is this God's voice, or is it just my inner critic?" Then replace it with something true. Not something positive, something true. Truth has a way of quieting lies So to close out today's podcast episode, imagine what your life would look like if you stopped believing every fearful thought that wandered into your mind. Imagine how much lighter you would feel, how much freer you would feel, how much more peaceful you would feel. I don't know about you, but I think that's a big thing that people want today. People wanna feel more peaceful, not because life became easier, but because your mind became healthier. One of the greatest freedoms you'll ever experience is realizing that you don't have to believe everything you think. You have permission to question it. You have permission to replace it. You have permission to choose truth, because the voice in your head may be loud, but it doesn't get the final word. Truth does. All right. Thanks for spending a few moments with me today. If this conversation made you think of someone who's been believing a lie about themself, hey, pass the flame. One honest conversation can change the direction of a life. I believe that. And remember, see farther, live deeper, become who you were created to be, because you were created to be a fire, not just a flicker. So keep the pilot light on, and I will see you next time Before we go, I wanna ask you for two quick things. First, if Pilot Light has encouraged you, would you take a moment to follow the podcast and leave a review on either Apple Podcasts or Spotify? It may seem like a small thing, but it really does help this message reach more people who might need a little light in their life. And secondly, I wanna hear from you because Pilot Light was never meant to be just a podcast. It was meant to be a conversation. So go to the website, mypilotlight.com, and go to the fan page portion and send me a message or leave me a voicemail. Tell me your story. What challenged you? What encouraged you? What did you do differently? Or maybe most importantly, who did you pass the flame to? Maybe you shared an episode with a friend. Maybe you encouraged someone who needed it. Maybe you had a conversation you had been putting off. Maybe you chose to show up differently. I wanna hear those stories. Some of them may be even shared on our website or included in a future episode because you never know how your story might light the way for someone else. So remember, a flame was never meant to be kept. It was meant to be passed, so keep passing the flame. And as always, see farther, live deeper, become who you were created to be. You were created to be a fire, not just a flicker. Keep the pilot light on, and I will see you next time