I can hear my dad’s voice when it came to how we learned to process our thoughts, what we would be thinking about and figuring out life with our minds.
He’d say, “Watch your thought life because your thinking generally will govern where your feet will take you!”
He was right then, and it still makes more than enough sense to consider it now.
Forward Friday deals with the thoughts we think, how we process and ways to get out of a rut if we’re stuck in any way, shape or form.
Our thought life is so powerful as it has the ability to help us climb to great heights or submerge us into the lowest of lows.
It is possible to gain insight so we can climb high and experience the good even when it doesn’t seem like it could be possible. And as always, there is good news at the end…
Let’s Get Into This!!!
When we were old enough to read parts of the local newspaper, dad would give us a story to read and then tell him what we understood.
That grew over time to, after supper, recounting at least 4 articles and what we derived from those stories.
At first, it seemed like a drag because well, toys, later games, and later being outside seemed like a better option than newspaper recount #12 but little did we see it at the time, but dad was training us to think, to process, to comprehend, understand so that our thinking processes would not be a hit or miss option but rather intentional growth for life.
It’s been said that our personal life expresses the result or direction of our most dominant thoughts.
It’s probably why dad was such proponent of making wise choices with friends because he would always say that negative thinking, negative actions produce negative results and the negative has an impact on how we think and what we think.
It’s been also said “If you realized just how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought.”
So, here are a couple of ideas to consider in strengthening our thought processes.
Committed To Healthier Thinking
Are we committed to change? We have the ability to come back from setbacks and it requires a sense of knowing that we can make positive changes, but it also requires focus and the ability to establish practices and intentions that will help us move towards a healthier mindset.
Challenge
Dad would always encourage us to never look at the moments in our lives out of the eyes of fear.
Not that challenges could seem like they could be insurmountable but to not let fear become a thief of our joy, hope and contentment.
When our thought patterns are attacked negatively, if we can see with a little faith, it becomes possible to gain a newfound quickness to stop seeing things as threats but opportunities, adventure instead of hardship.
We Can Look Like Those We Hang Around…
Simply put, it is crucial that we pay attention to those we spend time with. Are they negative or positive forces in our lives and those they are around?
Studies have shown that both sides of the coin can be and are contagious.
It is so true that a negative speaking, sky is always falling, sour mood type can not just bring a room down to their level but the longer we hang around them, it seems to affect our thinking and outlook.
It’s equally true that a positive, healthy outlook person can lift and encourage those around them that can help others see the good things in life.
My thinking grows in the affirmative when I am around those who have healthy outlooks on life.
It just makes sense that we run with those who can see the clearing in the forest and not just the trees…
But There’s More… Where The Good Medicine Kicks In….
There Are a few Mind Positions Worth Considering...
The Bible talks a lot about the mind, and I believe for those of us who could be struggling in this area of life, here are some things that can help us grow stronger in our thought life.
Because of actions that would be characterized as religious activity over the years, many of these activities obscured the truths of scripture and how God really thinks about us and His plans for us.
But the Good news is He’s not changed and in the case of our thought life, He’s got a lot to say about the subject and it’s a good thing…
So, here are a few things to think about walking into the weekend….
The Clear-headed Mind
Titus 1:8 He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself.
In other words, our mind for lack of a better word becomes woozy.
It’s interesting that problems, when our mind is off, get exaggerated and it seems like the issues seem like they are on steroids.
I have a friend who seems to feel like they have a terrible life when “Stuff” shows up; could it be just a tough 24 hours? The enemy of our souls would love to twist a reality into an abyss thought progression but God wants to help us have a clear mind.
The Apprehensive Mind
Luke 12:29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things.
I had a baseball coach who tried to help us move on from a bad at bat, errors in the field etc. He would always say that the worst thing would be to make a moment become a slump that could get prolonged.
It’s the same thing when we get apprehensive; nerves build and before we know, 1 day became a week into a month and.. we get the idea.
It’s not that we’re not concerned about issues, but we put life’s moments into it’s proper place. I’d say it takes so much pressure off.
The Intact Mind
2 Timothy 1:8 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and a well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control.
It’s interesting; many of us think that one strong thought says our minds are intact, sound, whole. A healthy mind says that how we think are solid, sound, not weak and fragile.
Healthy thoughts: here are a couple:
I am at peace. I can trust God
I have every reason to rejoice! I put my hope in God
My troubles are only temporary.
I give all my anxieties to God because he cares for me
I am lavishly loved and can choose to be wholeheartedly forgiven
Remember we said that religion actions obscured the wonderful realities of how God thinks of us....
Here’s a great scripture in Philippians 4:6-8 that speaks to the issues of the mind and how God wants to help anyone who wants to develop strength in the mind.
It is possible that our life can move in strength.
Philippians 4:6-8 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
When we think of how much God wants to help us in this life, it’s worth contemplating because I believe the benefits far outweigh the negatives…
The Thoughts I Think:
I read this quote this week and caused me to consider how I want to live well.
“The man/woman who cultivates/grows wrong thoughts and or has worrisome actions, and prays or asks for God to bless him, is in the position of a farmer who, having put apple seeds into ground, asks God to help bring about an orange grove. So whatever we sow/put into the ground, we will reap/harvest the outgrowth/output.”
There may be a lot of things that we feel like we don’t have control over; But we do have a choice of what we set our mind on.
It really matters how we think.. Quality is a big deal..
Let’s make it work for us this weekend!!
Dave
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