As a parent and Christian I have always valued this quote by Pastor Brad Matherne that he has continually said to his son throughout his life,
“The most important thing about you is what you believe about Jesus, and then how you live in light of that.”
Notice how vital the word believe is. Belief is a product of our thoughts and it is only after that belief that the action can come, or not come. We receive information, our minds process that information, and then we think about it in a way that causes us to act or not act in accordance with what we believe about that information.
A quote that I love which speaks to the power of our thoughts is that from Henry Ford in which he says, “Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”
God knows the power of our minds, he created them. And he also knows that sin starts there before it ever manifests into actions. We even see it said in scripture that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). The act of looking at a woman is not sinful, it is only when it is accompanied by lustful thinking. And unfortunately, if we allow ourselves to entertain sinful thoughts long enough they almost always result in sinful actions.
In Romans 12 we are told:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
The transformation only comes as a result of the renewing of your mind first, and it is only then that you will have the ability to understand God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.
But our thoughts don’t stop, and God knows this. It is estimated that humans think somewhere between 60,000-80,000 thoughts per day. That is somewhere between 2,500-3,000 per hour. That is a lot of thoughts. I wish I could say that every one of those is proper thinking for me, but I would be lying if I said that. This is why we are instructed in Corinthians 10:5 to capture every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Capture 60-80k of thoughts every day!?!?! Yup, luckily you don’t have to do it alone.
As Christians, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Romans 6:10). With the help of that power, the Holy Spirit, we can control and manage our thought life. Better yet, we can capture every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
Repetition in redirecting your thoughts will help you do this on a more common basis and with less effort. Relevant side story; As a part of my coaching and training business I am contracted with an eating disorder center where we offer a fully comprehensive recovery program to athletes who struggle with eating disorders. I collaborate with their sport and training coaches as well as the staff handling their eating disorder recovery and in many of the training sessions there will be a mental performance coach present. Throughout the session that coach will ask the athlete what their thoughts are at certain points. Many times the athletes will be honest and express disordered or negative thoughts about themselves as they come up. At that point the mental performance coach will always ask, “ok, how can we reframe that”. You can tell that this is a strategy they have worked on, and through a lot of repetition they get much better over time. This “reframing” of thoughts and mindset reminds me of capturing every thought.
When a negative, sinful, or hurtful thought comes up we need to be ready and willing to reframe that thought into something positive, holy, or helpful/uplifting. I think of the Holy Spirit as our mental performance coach in this situation. Throughout the day the Holy Spirit is there saying, “hey, what are you thinking about right now?” Then we feel convicted if the thoughts are not in alignment with our goals as followers of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is there to say, “ok, how can we reframe or redirect that thought?” and then, just like the mental performance coach, the Holy Spirit is there to help us through that process to get us back on track with rightful thinking.
If we are all being honest, rightful thinking can be a struggle for us all. I challenge you to find those areas in your thought life that you struggle with the most and allow the Holy Spirit to coach you through reframing and/or redirecting your thoughts, capturing them, and making them obedient to Christ.
Some common areas include:
Negative self talk
Doubt
Lust/Impure thoughts
Unforgiveness toward others
Judgment of others
Anger toward others or God
Resentment
Envy
Fill in the blank: ________________
Your thoughts will dictate your actions and direction in life. If your goal is to follow Christ, you must start in your mind.
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