“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7

Just A Thought

I’ve been thinking about thinking. Thinking—as in all the random thoughts that crackle through my mind, the fantasies and the imaginations, facts and figures, the scenarios I play out like a screenplay, the things I think are true and the things I determine are unreal, the things my brain values and “holds to be self-evident.”

According to our Scripture, the things I think determine who I am. That’s critical.

Our thinking will determine who we really are in the depths of our being. Our thinking will ignite our emotional responses. Our thinking will determine what actions we will take or won’t take. Our thinking will be the catalyst for outcomes whether good or bad. It all starts in our thinking. How you think about God, how you think about yourself, how you think about your purpose and calling, determines the course of your life.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

You and I will be radically transformed by the renewing of our minds. Spirit inspired, scripturally anchored thinking will reveal who God is. Knowing the truth of who God is will reveal who we are in His eyes. This revolutionary thinking will disclose why we were created. It will unwrap the gifts God has imparted to us. Right thinking will give us direction in purpose and the meaning of our lives.

Plato said thinking was the talking of the soul with itself. What is your soul saying today? What are you thinking in your heart?

As I considered this, I came to realize that some of my thinking tolerated the world’s version of truth. Some of my thinking allowed my flesh to take precedence over the higher vision of who God has told me I am. My thinking was laced with rationalizations and excuses.

For me, I am returning to God’s truth and making no allowance for my flesh. I will agree with God about my sin, and repent. I am doing inventory and putting God back in my thoughts and back on the throne. I am deliberately agreeing that His ways will take precedence over my own.

I am changing my thoughts and as my thoughts change, my actions and choices are changing. As a bonus, my joy and delight in life is being restored. I am more centered. My creativity has returned and I take pleasure in my calling again. It all began with a thought—just thinking about thinking.

“Father, My mind is a battleground. You know my thoughts before I even think them. It is my desire to have thoughts that are firmly secured in truth. I confess that Your ways are higher than mine and Your thoughts are not like my thoughts. I intentionally choose to think Your thoughts and walk in Your truth. I want to live out Your good and acceptable and perfect will. Thank You for loving me. In the name of Jesus, Amen.”