I am always saying, as an excuse, “Oh, I thought it, but I didn’t say it.” In fact, those very words came out of my mouth yesterday. I was dealing with a co-worker with whom there is no love lost, and I thought about saying all kinds of things to him, but I was so proud that the thoughts did not escape my lips. But, as I read Philippians 4:8 this morning, I was convicted. Though I didn’t say anything I thought, it was clear that my thoughts were fixated on the situation because I shared it with my mother and another co-worker (boasting how proud I was of myself for not going off on the guy). Until today, I had always read that verse and thought, “How exactly am I supposed to do this?” How do we fix our thoughts? I mean, you can’t control what you think. However, we can control what influences our thoughts and the thoughts upon which we fixate our minds.
As I grow closer to Christ, I have realized that the thoughts I have are more true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and admirable. They are not perfect; they are still a work in progress, but they are closer. And, what about those nasty thoughts? We have to be careful. You cannot control what you think, but you can control how long you think about it and what you do or say about it. For example, I have a terrible habit of anticipating bad things, and then, dwelling on them, trying to come up with solutions before I ever face a problem. Like, every year, I anticipate being depressed from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day. I am single, a lot of money is spent, and although I love the time with my family, at the end of the day, I have no human waiting for me at home. It can be very sad. This past year was no exception, and to add to it, I was dealing with the fact that my grandmother would not be here because she passed away earlier in the year. I planned different activities to do to keep my mind off of being alone, but each time I didn’t do one of the activities, I became even more depressed. Then, on New Year’s Eve, when I had nothing to do and no one to go anywhere with, I decided to stop destroying my victorious life with defeated thoughts. I was not going to anticipate heartache and failure, but joy and success. “Fix your thoughts” indicates that your thoughts may be broken, but there is a solution and that solution is found in an intimate and expectant relationship with Christ. Again, it is a work in progress, as Valentine's Day approaches, but my God works all things together for my good. So, I will fix my thoughts on Him, and trust that He will see me through. Ms. EV
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