Here they come again – those negative thoughts. Worry about paying the bills, the stress at work, health challenges, issues with the kids, and even struggles believing God’s Word are just a few of the battles we can have roaming around in our minds. You name it – the problems of the world are always knocking at our mind’s door. “Hello, I’m back! Let me in!” There’s nothing too much more debilitating than a mind that’s being bombarded day and night with negative (and wrong) thoughts.
But guess what? You can manage and subdue all those thoughts constantly coming at you. It may take some time and it requires discipline, but it is possible.
I used to be scared to make simple decisions – standing there completely frozen considering the spiderweb of negative ramifications that could occur. “Am I doing the right thing”? “What will people think”? I would even imagine myself doing things I know I would never even do! Naturally, I figured since those thoughts were coming to me that they belonged to me and that they were a part of who I was. After all, I’m the one thinking them, right? Then I discovered those thoughts were not mine and I identified why they were coming. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” He can’t touch us physically, so he comes through the mind to get us off track and distract us from our purpose.
Enter God’s Grace. And with His Grace comes the knowledge, insight, and power to change the narrative – to truly change a life. 2 Cor 2:5 says, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. Taking EVERY thought captive may sound a little far-fetched, but if God says we can do it, we can. But to do so, we need a renewed mind (Romans 12:2). Philippians 4:8 tells us “…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." We should constantly feed our minds with Godly things to be able to experience the Mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). His Grace takes our natural effort to bring about supernatural results!
When I think of God’s Grace, I think of having everything I need to be successful on this earth to bring glory to Him. And when I do the work to keep my mind on God (daily, even hourly) – to keep my thoughts in line with His Word, it usually leads to something that He can use to bring little pieces of His Kingdom down to earth.
I used to be scared to make simple decisions – standing there completely frozen considering the spiderweb of negative ramifications that could occur. “Am I doing the right thing”? “What will people think”? I would even imagine myself doing things I know I would never even do! Naturally, I figured since those thoughts were coming to me that they belonged to me and that they were a part of who I was. After all, I’m the one thinking them, right? Then I discovered those thoughts were not mine and I identified why they were coming. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” He can’t touch us physically, so he comes through the mind to get us off track and distract us from our purpose.
Enter God’s Grace. And with His Grace comes the knowledge, insight, and power to change the narrative – to truly change a life. 2 Cor 2:5 says, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”. Taking EVERY thought captive may sound a little far-fetched, but if God says we can do it, we can. But to do so, we need a renewed mind (Romans 12:2). Philippians 4:8 tells us “…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." We should constantly feed our minds with Godly things to be able to experience the Mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). His Grace takes our natural effort to bring about supernatural results!
When I think of God’s Grace, I think of having everything I need to be successful on this earth to bring glory to Him. And when I do the work to keep my mind on God (daily, even hourly) – to keep my thoughts in line with His Word, it usually leads to something that He can use to bring little pieces of His Kingdom down to earth.
So, remember, all those negative and wrong thoughts are not you and don’t even belong to you. You have the authority and the power through God’s Grace to settle down your mind, transform it, and live out God’s purpose and destiny for your life. Now, you can (rightly) answer the question, “What’s on your mind?”
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