In life, there are so many things vying for our attention. The news bombards us with reports of doom and gloom from AI, a new pandemic, a hodgepodge of presidential candidates, and a host of other negative topics. We go to the grocery store and prices seem to change overnight. We once fed our families for $50 a visit and came home with bags of groceries. Now, we spend $150 and barely have anything to show for it. Everywhere we look, we see despair, disrespect, and dishonor. Occasionally, a ray of sunshine pops through and we find a young fast-food worker paying for a mother’s meal because she forgot her wallet at home. With darkness appearing to take over the light, you can lose sight of God and His Word. You know He’s there, but your thoughts concentrate on what we see regularly. Time to service your thinking.
The Story: Philippians 4:8
“Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].”
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A8&version=AMP
I know this verse seems like a lot. But the premise behind it is short and sweet. Service Your Thinking. Ok, I hear you. What does service have to do with thinking? Everything. The care and maintenance you provide to your vehicle is the same care and maintenance required for your thinking.
You don’t believe me. Check this out:
- You wash your car, your thinking needs washing.
- Active removal of negative thoughts, past hurts, and mistakes is required on a regular basis. Scrub away the distorted picture you see when you look in the mirror. Apply positive affirmations to yourself and watch your thinking sparkle.
- You fuel your car, your thinking needs fuel.
- What you see and hear fuels your thoughts. If you gas up on social media posts and reality tv, your thinking begins questioning your life and accomplishments and the hand lands on empty. Therefore, read a book, listen to a podcast, or meditate on God’s Word and watch your thinking reach full.
- You perform routine maintenance on your car, your thinking needs routine maintenance.
- Survey your thoughts to see what you think about most. Are most of your thoughts positive or negative? Not sure. Spend 5-10 minutes writing down every thought you have. This time will go so slow as you realize the number of thoughts you have in a short period of time. Assess what you wrote and perform the necessary upkeep.
Therefore, our thinking needs service. Whatever we think on, we act on!
To drive this point home, think about this. While driving our vehicle, we go in the direction of our sight. If something catches our attention to the left or the right, our car begins to veer in that direction. The movement is subtle, but the outcome can be catastrophic unless we manage to refocus our eyes and vehicle. The same goes for our thinking. If our thoughts travel down a road of despair, sadness and depression are soon to follow unless we can readjust our thinking. Please note that sometimes we need assistance without our thoughts and focus, seek professional help. Therapists and psychiatrists are mechanics for our mind.
Therefore, service your thoughts.
Proverbs 23:7 NIV ~ “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
Luke 6:45 NIV ~ “…For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
We become what we think.
Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash
