Whose Idea?

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

Psalm 139:17-18

 

One of the things I get to do is listen.  I listen when people tell me things and sometimes I overhear things people are saying.  Guess what the number one category of the conversations I have had or overheard?  NEGATIVE!  That's right, we say things like "I can't"..."I'll never"..."Nothing I do makes a difference"..."No matter how hard I try, no one seems to notice or care"...

 

Why do we think like that?  "Because it's true"?  Says WHO?  Let me give you a nugget of wisdom:  Anything you do for 10 days in a row becomes a habit.  This includes the way we think, act, speak, and the way we treat each other. 

 

 So why do we focus so much on the negative?   Could it be we have been influenced by negative people?  Those who only seem to notice you when you make a mistake; those who simply refuse to acknowledge a job well done; those who simply find some reason not to like you and take it upon themselves to find fault in everything you do; those who play favorites and aren't shy about letting you know that you are not on the "favorites" list.  

 

When we rely on the opinions of others, we condemn ourselves to a negative outlook and that is the outlook we pass on to others.  Let me ask you something, are these negative people the ones who looked down through time and created you specifically for their purposes?  NO!  Do these negative people care enough about you to number the very hairs of your head? NO!  Do these negative people love you enough to die for you? NO!  So why do we put so much validity in what these negative people think about us?

 

Listen, Psalm 139:14 reminds us that we are "skillfully made" by God for His purposes.  Psalm 139:17-18 reminds us that God loves us so much that He cannot stop thinking about us.  Why does God love us so much?  Because YOU are HIS idea...And God only has GOOD ideas!