Monday Morning Devotions-August 25, 2014
Tangled Thoughts
The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9
Once I read this statement. "Think about what you are thinking about."
Before reading that I'm not really sure I spent much time, if any, thinking about the things I was thinking about. Not sure if I ever, at least not very often ,if at all, kinda just stepped outside of myself momentarily and considered why I was thinking about something that I was thinking. Tried to discern why those "tangled thoughts" had crept into my mind and how I could I untangle and get them out of there.
Since we are constantly thinking we hardly ever consider the fact that sound thinking takes some effort. In some regards it's hard work. I was reading an article on the "Foundation for Critical Thinking" page. Two Psychologists collaborated on this. The article was entitled 'Learning the Art of Critical Thinking."
It opens with these, uh, thoughts. "There is nothing more practical than sound thinking. No matter what your circumstance or goals, no matter where you are or what problems you face, you are better off if your think is skilled."
Skilled? I never thought of "thinking" as a "skill" before. Gosh, we think things all the time. You mean we can work on our thinking, consider the things we are thinking about and get better at the process? Apparently we can.
"Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances. The general goal of thinking is to 'figure out the lay of the land' in any situation we are in."
When you thing about it we are what we think because what the mind decides to do the physical body follows. The world views us through our actions. These all they have a beginning in our minds.
Sometimes we do the opposite of what we are thinking. The Apostle Paul, writing in Romans, lamented the fact that he frequently did just the thing of that was the opposite of what he wanted to do. In his mind he knew what was the right thing to do, it was the thing he wanted to do, but for some reason it was not what he did, he would do the opposite.
Why would that be the case? Joyce Meyer, noted pastor and author, says it is because Satan seeks to put a stronghold in your mind. It is an area where he wants to dominate our thinking."
She continues to say, "If you want to have the real life Jesus has given you then you have to be careful about your thoughts and attitudes."
Meyer says that we have weapons to use against those Satan initiated strongholds of wrong thinking. She lists, the Word of God as a starter pointing out that if you don't know the Word of God how can you tell if the words being bandied about in your mind are God-sent or Satan-sent.
Prayer is a weapon because it opens the door for God to come in and work.
Love is a weapon. Meyer advises taking a "Love Walk". She says it is "a powerful thing to go on-purpose and be good to someone else."
These are weapons we have that we may tend to take for granted or use effectively. Meyer advises to "think less and thank more."
Another interesting thing that she points out is that we can "think our way into a good day or a bad day." It all begins in the mind.
Sometimes there may not even be action involved but negative, depressing, sad thoughts pop into our minds and take over. That's when we start thinking our way into a bad situation or a depressing day maybe before we even get out of bed.
This is when these invisible weapons God has given us need to come into play. OK, so the negative thought has already entered our mind, too late to avoid it. Time to defeat it using the power of prayer, God's word, our faith and love. May only take one of these weapons to win out or it may be such a deep, controlling thought or battery of thoughts and the consequences they could have we may have use a combination of these weapons.
A soldier might win a skirmish with his rifle or he might have to use hand grenades also, or might need air support and bombs to be dropped. Sometimes one weapon is not enough to win the battle. Although each spiritual weapon God has provided is powerful the enemy may be throwing multiple weaponry into the mix. No matter what…God's weapons are stronger.
Sometimes Satan uses the past to try to bring us down. Meyer says she found out that
"her past doesn't have anything to do with her future. It is never too late for a new beginning.
When you are seeking God's wisdom it may not always seem reasonable. But it is always right. Meyer said when Satan tempted Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree, she said, at first, "Oh no we are forbidden to do that."
Then the mind game began as Satan said, "Hey that's crazy. Look at that beautiful fruit. That doesn't make sense. Maybe the reason He is forbidding that is you'll be as smart as He is after eating that fruit."
We see from this how lies can affect our thinking. Eve knew in her heart what she was being asked to do was wrong. She did not stop to analyze, clarify and think about what she was thinking about. Sometimes we think off the top of our head before we act instead of going with what our heart tells us to do.
As we seek to clarify our thinking and do the right things and enjoy our lives it is important to think about what we are thinking. God will help you sort through the things that are wholesome, uplifting and right and distinguish them from things that may only seem to be that way.
Tangled Thoughts become untangled when we use the weapons God has given us to defeat them.
Monday Prayer: Lord thank you for untangling our thinking when we call on you to help us defeat Satan's strongholds. Amen!
***author's note: Think about what you are thinking about this week and when you get confused and need help God is always there.