Think About Your Thinkin’!

Are you easily swayed, duped, confused – and way too often, deceived by your own thoughts? Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger – it happens to a lot of us. The things we allow ourselves to dwell upon can very well be the reasons for our anxiety, fear, depression and anger.

Here is what I mean. You hear an alarming news blip on your TV or newsfeed, and that sixty second of distressing news begins to take over your thoughts.  As it swells and expands in your thinking, the fear and ‘what-ifs’ grow. Doubts of personal safety surface and you end up with a full-blown case of mental and nervous distress.

The above scenario is easy for all of us to understand what has happened – the thought train ran completely off the rails. It no longer is dependent upon actual facts – the rails that a normal train should follow – and is now rampantly using imagination and fears to race up mountains and into deep shadowy valleys that scare us to death. And many of us let that happen constantly. There has to be a way to stop this negative way of thinking – the scary scenarios that we allow our minds and emotions to create.

There is.

Scripture teaches in Proverbs 23:7, “What we think about, we will become.”

What is this verse saying? Certainly not that if we think constantly about catching the measles, we will. No, it is talking about mental and emotional health. If we dwell on the bad things in life, we can easily become unhappy, carping, critical and fearful. But if we choose to constantly draw   our thoughts back to the good and the positive in our life, then our mood and our behavior will follow that pattern.

So, kinda like the TV. Learn to change the channel.

In the Bible, Paul wrote, “Think on things that are just, pure, lovely things of good report. Focus on things of virtue and are praiseworthy.” If we will learn to focus on the positive – the good, honest, true things – our personal world can change. Realize that how you are thinking about an event can be worse than the actual event. By deciding to change your thought life means that you can fight and overcome a lot of ‘stinkin’ thinkin’ that keeps dragging you down in life.

Getting overwhelmed by the negative in our world right now? Finding yourself obsessing over what could, and may happen, if so-and-so happens? Stop. Change the channel. Life isn’t ALL bad. Deliberately search, find, and dwell on the good things in your life.

After all, your Creator God loves you no matter what. He never takes His eye off of you. He cares deeply for you and wants you to grow to be more like Him. So, reflect on His love and care for you, and let your thought life get healthier.

Just think about it.