Escape the Funhouse: How to Find Your True Self in a World of Distorted Reflections

By Pastor Ricky Spindler

Hold Fast: Hearing, Speaking, and Seeing the Word

The county fair rolled into town not long ago. You know the drill—funnel cakes, corn dogs, cotton candy, the whole fairway lit up with rides. But tucked back behind the Ferris wheel is the house of mirrors. You’ve probably been in one before—step inside and suddenly you’re taller than an NBA player in one mirror, wider than a barn in another, or completely bent out of shape in another.

It’s funny in a carnival, but not so funny in life. Because life can work just like that house of mirrors. We walk through experiences, disappointments, even our own failures, and suddenly we’re not sure we recognize the person looking back at us. Our identity gets distorted. Who God says we are in Christ can get all twisted in our vision.

That’s why I love Hebrews 10:23: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

When the writer of Hebrews penned those words, he was reminding believers that they weren’t the first to struggle, to doubt, or to feel disoriented. He points back through history to show them: Jesus is better than anything else you could cling to. He’s worth the cost. He’s worth your trust. He is faithful.

Faith: Anchoring Yourself

Faith isn’t wishful thinking. It’s not optimism. It’s the heart’s response to the character of God. Faith says:

• I believe in the goodness of God.

• I’m going to act like God is telling the truth.

The writer of Hebrews says, “Hold fast.” That’s not a casual phrase. Holding fast is like buckling your seatbelt before a long drive. I remember once driving to Chicago when a Jeep flipped on the interstate. The husband was trapped inside. The daughter had been thrown clear. Same accident, two very different outcomes—because one was anchored by a seatbelt and the other wasn’t.

Hebrews is warning us: some people are drifting because they never buckle in. They never anchor themselves to Jesus.

What Do We Anchor To?

We anchor to “the confession of our faith.” Confession isn’t private—it’s spoken. It’s like a wedding vow. Nobody gets married silently. You put into words what’s in your heart. In the same way, your faith won’t grow in silence. It grows as you speak it.

That’s why Scripture puts so much weight on hearing and speaking the Word. Romans 10:17 says faith comes by hearing. And the Greek word for “word” there is rhema—God’s Word spoken in a personal way.

Think about that: the Word is powerful when I hear it, but it’s also powerful when I speak it. Hebrews 4:12 describes it as a “two-edged sword”—literally, a two-mouthed sword. It cuts one way when God speaks it to me. It cuts the other way when I speak it back in prayer.

That’s why when you’re sick and you declare, “By his stripes I am healed,” it’s not empty words—it’s powerful. When you’re making a big decision and you pray Jeremiah 29:11 over your life, you are releasing God’s truth into your situation.

Words Are Containers

But let’s be honest—words can also carry the opposite. Words can drain your faith. Words can weigh you down. Sometimes it’s not even what we say, but the spirit behind it.

You know the difference. You answer the phone, say “hello,” and depending on your tone the same word carries irritation or love. Words are containers: they can hold faith or doubt, fear or hope, love or anger.

The Israelites learned this the hard way. Twelve spies went into the promised land. Ten came back with words full of fear. Two came back with words full of faith. Guess which ones the nation believed? The fearful words kept God’s people wandering in circles for forty years.

Our words matter.

Jesus: The Living Word

Here’s the good news: we’re not just holding fast to our words—we’re holding fast to His. Jesus is the Living Word. He healed with a word. He calmed a storm with a word. He called Lazarus out of the grave with a word. And He said if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, and you speak to the mountain, it will move.

Faith doesn’t ignore reality. Some of the heroes in Hebrews 11 died without receiving what they believed for in this life. But Scripture says they died in faith. They never stopped trusting that God was good and faithful. I’d rather die believing than live every day in doubt.

Looking Through the Word

Here’s one more thought. Faith isn’t just something you look at. It’s something you look through.

Think binoculars. If I just stare at them, they don’t help me at all. But if I look through them, suddenly I can see further and clearer than with my natural eyes. God’s Word works the same way.

When I read Scripture, I’m not just reading words on a page—

I’m looking through them to see my marriage not just as it is, but as it could be.

I’m looking through them to see my classroom, my workplace, my church, my community, not just as they are, but as God is shaping them to be.

Mary asked the angel, “How can this be?” And the angel answered, “With God, all things are possible.”

This October, as a church, we’re going to put this into practice.

Hebrews 11 is full of confessions of faith—statements God’s people made about their lives and their God.

We’ve pulled together 31 of them.

One for each day of the month. Let’s read them, speak them, and pray them over our lives.

Because when we hear the Word, speak the Word, and see life through the Word, faith rises. And when faith rises, mountains move.