Have you ever been trucking along with everything going well and all right in the world and with God and your fellow man when it hits you....an unwelcome thought? This happens to me more than I would like, and it occurs to me that this may be what we are raging our war against.
We are told to not worry, but I DO! OH BOY do I worry. That is in rebellion of His word and I don't even realize that it is because there is something very stoic about worry, you know? It is as if we feel like if we carry the whole world on our shoulders, we're doing God some big favor.
So I'm thinking what are the thoughts that are from God? The apostle Paul says this is what we are to think about:
...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy...(from Philippians 4)
There are a LOT of things in my mind that are not on that list.
Do my thoughts produce the fruit?
...love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control... (from Galatians 5)
Any thoughts that don't produce this are not being made captive to Christ.
Father, help us to bring each thought captive to You, give us the mind of Christ that we may remain in Him, do the good works you have prepared, for without Christ we know we can do nothing. Help us to live as sons and daughters of the Most High that the world will see and know that You ARE.
"whatsoever is lovely..."
ReplyDeleteHi Ma,
Even our idea of "lovely" is skewed, and the Bible tells us that the devil can present himself to us as "an angel of light", so just dwelling on lovely things by itself is not a cure for our disease...I'm not saying that we shouldn't think on good and lovely things, just saying that in itself, just like any of our doings, isn't our cure. Thankfully, Jesus has done what it takes to ransom us from our sinfulness, and He alone is pure, and holy, and lovely, and right in every way. :)
Of course Christ is the only cure, I think to me it is a matter of actually believing:) that I am allowed to think upon the lovely (and our idea is skewed, but not HIS).
DeleteYep, our flesh still keeps getting in our way. ;-) My DH puts it this way: "The moment you think 'I'm humble' you actually are most filled with pride" ...we just cannot get around ourselves, but by the grace of God and all glory always goes to Him alone.
DeleteThis picture looks like a rainy street with streetlights? It is fascinating! I have the same thing, bad thoughts just all of a sudden come, worries and such. I try to just re-direct them quickly. I have learned that most things cannot be helped by worry.
ReplyDeleteRainy street with streetlights it is! Re-direct is a good word Ginny.
DeleteSaying prayers for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Denise.
DeleteOh Ma I feel your post is a God kiss for me today. I have been feeling so much stress and worry lately and your post has settled me and reminded me of what I should be doing and thinking about...His promise. He is in charge and always there.
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Joanne
Thanks Joanne. It is so easy to get distracted isn't it?
DeleteThank you, for this recognizable blog you wrote. Thank you, you for this recognizable blog you wrote. Especially in these dark months I have trouble with these thoughts. I bring them to Jesus and He is able to help me :-)
ReplyDeleteThe dark months make it harder for me, too.
Delete"It is as if we feel like if we carry the whole world on our shoulders, we're doing God some big favor." I too need to learn to have faith in Him... and His mighty shoulders.
ReplyDeleteThose Philippians and Galatians verses are inseparable, aren't they?
Blessings!
Worry is an idol of mine, always has been. I am so grateful for the comfort of the scriptures and the fellowship and teaching of the Spirit.
DeleteLove the prayer MA! With pain and loss and evil and greed and ... on & on unpleasant stuff happening around us, it's a chore to not worry. Captivate the worry, give the unfixable to Almighty God, focus on the Lord and good. Flip our thoughts. I like that! God is good all the time. Merry Christmas MA!
ReplyDeleteYes, Flip!
DeleteMerry Christmas to you and yours Brian.
Merry Christmas Ma! Thank you for your priceless Blog that ministers to our hearts. You are truly a blessing to us all! God bless you and your dear family and may the love of Jesus light your days and your path in 2013.
DeleteI think that we all struggle with ungodly thoughts of various kinds. I know that I do.
ReplyDeleteQuick story. My church in Chicago supports a missionary family in an Arab country. One day, the husband is at the barber shop, and the barber asks him if he would like to watch "the American channel." The husband, not knowing what the barber might mean, said sure. The barber then turned the channel to a station that was playing a typical Hollywood action film - bullets flying, explosions going off, fancy sports cars, the whole nine yards. The barber commented on how crazy America is. He also said that Americans are immoral, and that it must be easy being a Christian, as the standards for Christian conduct are so low. The husband said that Christianity is harder than Islam because Islam allows a man to have four wives, while Christianity says that to even look at another woman with lust is a great sin. The barber was surprised and said that it was impossible for anyone to meet the standard of purity of thoughts imposed by Christianity. The husband said, yup, that's why Jesus came for us.
There are a lot of things that I love about that story, but the thing I love most is that God didn't lower his standards for us, even though He knew we couldn't meet them - rather, He came to us and met those standards for us.
I like that, Leslie, that He doesn't lower His standards, but covers us with His own righteousness. What else can we do but accept it and be thankful!?
DeleteTV is the worst, though, in a lot of ways. It is very hard to think about lovely things when there is so much unlovely being displayed everywhere.
Thanks for this timely reminder, Ma. Resisting worry is a biggie, isn't it? This year especially I've had to learn to resolutely resist it by firmly placing my trust in God each time. Asking myself if my thoughts produce the fruits of the Spirit is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes to you and your family for Christmas and new year. God bless.
Have a wonderful Christmas, too Vilisi!
DeleteMerry Christmas to your family Ma! I love being blog friends and wouldn't in be fun to be in real life friends one day! Who knows?????
ReplyDeleteWho knows indeed!:) I think your kids and mine would get along famously.
DeleteI hope you and your family enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteWe did. Happy New Year to you too!
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