I thought it might be time for another poem. This one is a lighthearted look at how our minds work sometimes. I hope you enjoy it.
I’ve lived with someone since who knows when We get along, but every now and then… She* makes me crazy by the way she thinks She’s fearful, selfish and her attitude stinks Her negativity brings me down Her criticism makes me frown Her fear impedes my day’s success I’m burdened by her laziness I try to help her change her mind I speak God’s Word, but she declines My frustration, I cannot hide Why is she never on my side? But then to her, a light breaks through And she accepts God’s Word as true The negative thoughts, she does replace With God’s words of love and grace When this happens, I do delight For it means that we no longer fight And the battle in my mind is won For my old self is overcome *Pronouns may be changed as needed…
Once we are born again we have the opportunity to think in a whole new way. A way that supersedes the worldly negatives that try to defeat us. A way that transforms our mind into a new creation. The Bible calls it renewing our minds. It’s a process of kicking out the old worldly thoughts and replacing them with new thoughts from God’s Word.
Even though we are born again, we still live in this world, so there is an ongoing battle in our minds. The Bible describes our minds in the terms; “old man” (our old worldly thoughts and actions) and “new man” (our new Godly thoughts and actions). These two thought patterns are polar opposites and at war with each other in our minds. It takes our deliberate decision to choose which pattern we are going to follow.
This is a lifelong process. It doesn’t have to be difficult, but it does take consistent awareness on our part. The world demands our attention and floods our senses with information daily. Therefore, worldly thoughts can creep into our minds despite our best efforts. But if we remain vigilant to first recognize wrong thoughts, then to refute and replace them; we will have victory in our minds. The benefit of not permitting negative thoughts to dwell in our minds is fairly obvious. Negative thoughts like fear are completely debilitating. And thoughts like having a poor self-image tear us down. Those kinds of thoughts stop us from being the people we really want to be.
Psychologists know that correcting bad behavior requires replacing it with good behavior. As parents, we have witnessed this many times. Telling a child to stop doing something without offering a corrective action, doesn’t always deter them. The same is true for our minds. We must purposefully direct our thoughts toward the positives of God’s Word in order to oust the negatives. But our minds, just like an unruly child, might try to defy us. These are the times we must ‘extra-actively’ pursue the true words of God. And we must steadfastly hold on to those words in our thoughts and allow their light to dispel the darkness.
The world is full of self-help books designed to aid people in ridding themselves of detrimental thinking. These books utilize some of the principles of renewing the mind, so they can have a modicum of success. But they lack the real strength of God’s words to keep the negatives at bay. The Bible is the only sure-fire way to overcome the negatives of the world.
All the positives of God’s Word have been freely given to us to enjoy. All God’s promises are true and certain. God loves us completely and eternally. We are His children. Why not think those kinds of thoughts instead of the bitter and unsettling ones that the world throws at us? Why not see yourself as someone that God truly loves instead of the degrading picture that the world paints? Knowing God’s Word arms us with so much more than merely “the power of positive thinking”. God’s Word gives us the ability to discern truth from error and gives us the stamina to persist and win the battle in our minds.
I heard liberty defined once as, “one’s right to choose for himself”. We have the liberty to think what we want to think. Why not think God’s Word?
Note to my readers: Remember – no matter what negative thoughts come your way, the light of God’s Word dispels any (and all) darkness! Thanks for reading!