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! 

 

Thankful for Thinking

 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8 

Did you know that everything we say and do is preceded by a thought?  Every breath and other automatic responses of our body is regulated by a thought from the limbic portion of the brain.  Then we have the part of the brain that determines what we think about and what we say and some of the more manual motor skills.  And guess from where all these thoughts are being issued?  That's right, our brain.

So, let me ask you....what do you fill your brain with?  The brain is just one of God's amazing gifts and, if used properly, can benefit all those around us.  The brain...that old grey goop that keeps our ears from slapping together.  That incredible information sponge that soaks up a lot more than we think.  Yet, what do we put into this sponge?

Look at what Paul reminds us to fill our minds with: things that are true and honorable; things that are right and pure; things that are lovely and admirable; things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Did you find anything about gossip?  How about anything about how you can get ahead in your career?  Did you see anything about lust or adultery or anything negative?  Why?  Because our thoughts are controlled by the things we fill our brains with.  Fill your mind with the positive and the things for which we should be thankful, then you will see positive people.  Fill your mind with rubbish and you will see negative people.

Thankful for such an incredible gift as a mind!  Fill it carefully!

#dailythankfulchallenge