What I say may or may not be elementary but sometimes even when things seem to be elementary they can be easily over looked.
We are creatures that love to look inward at ourselves… and sometimes we may look too deeply into ourselves or a situation and make ourselves miserable.
Life outside self. To find "life" we have to look pass our own feelings, thoughts, distractions, evaluations and circumstances.
To "persevere" and find "strength" and "hope" we must look past ourselves to the one who set up the very foundation of hope.... GOD.
To find restraint and keep every dark seeded thing from "flying out" we must trust God more then ourselves. We must listen to God more then we listen to ourselves and watch out for carefully crafted pointed suggestions from the enemy... Satan.
In truth that can be very difficult at times especially in anguish and sorrow. Thank God for His Holy Spirit that prays for us when we can't seem to pray.
When life has got you down or frazzled or you seem to be just barely clutching onto some kind of healthy spiritually thinking, ask "rooted" questions to yourself.
Examples:
1. Where do these thoughts come from?
2. Are these thoughts actually true or are they my assumptions of what I perceive?
3. Are these thoughts based on what God has told me or what the world wants me to believe?
4. Am I seeking revenge or trusting in God's justice.
I am constantly amazed how far my mind can drift, get intoxicated or fall asleep in a short period of time by thoughts.
In college some of my friends would refer to this as: "How far off the dock are you willing to walk?"
Ever look down from your thoughts and realize there is nothing between your feet and the pointlessness?
I find myself at fault of this. I will be working on something and my mind will drift to these ideas which will play with my emotions.
I wish I had a better thought filter or trap because sometimes I can sail quite a ways down river before I realize I need to get myself back where I need to be spiritually.
Kind of like body boarding. You are body boarding the waves at the ocean- out in front of your beach "spot" and before you know it... the current has taken you down the beach a ways and you have to end up walking half a footballs field length to back up the beach to your beach "spot".
Sometimes I asked myself, if God’s spirit is living inside of me, why do I even bother listening to these suggestions that are slung at me throughout the day? Where is the "thought" filter that keeps the "slug" out of the mental pump?
Now imagine being intoxicated or under the influence of a drug or even a powerful emotion. That is where sin can take a great foot hold in a person's thinking and life. That is why God says,"And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' Mark 12:30
Because who do you trust in the mind and heart, if you don't trust and love God? What is the outcome if a person trusts and loves only themselves and what they receive from others?
A man finds out his wife is cheating on him. How is he going to constructively handle the situation? He certainly isn't going to handle the situation correctly if he trusts in himself. Not saying it doesn't hurt a man if his wife cheats on him but how is he going to constructively handle the situation better if he looks to God in contrast to looking into himself.
Paul said this in Philippians 3 "I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes everything is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him."
You depend on the praises of men, the money of men, your possessions, your looks, your friends, your spouse, your health, your position, your portfolio, your retirement, what do you got when they fail you? (Those who know the bible think about Job.)
Where does your mind go when they fail you?
Christ Jesus said this in Matthew 16:24-26
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?
It's a choice a person has to make everyday if not every minute of the day. You want to think clearly and healthy- don't just trust in in what you see or perceive but trust in God. He is higher then our thoughts and when we put him higher then our thoughts (and we don't give into our thoughts) he gives us peace and right action- even though it may be difficult.
"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:1-4)
It's starts with your choice.
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