Your Invisible Dog

One of my favorite songs I sung as a child was “Germs my Invisible Dog”. And as I thought of that song I started to imagine what it would be like to have a full grown undisciplined invisible dog on my hands.

This dog was strong dominant minded and a headache to take out in public. He would pull and yank on the leash as if I were just along for the ride. He would wrap his leash around sign poles, tip over trashcans, and jerk me through throne bushes. He would trip and knock people over trying to get to whatever had caught its attention. He would steal food from people’s plates. He would whine and beg to play at night when people would try to sleep. He would cause damage to the house when left home alone. (Think Marley from the movie "Marley and Me" and you might get a better jest of what I am talking about.)

Our thoughts can take us to some funny ideas but our thoughts can also be like that undisciplined invisible dog. Our thoughts can take us on a ride of emotions if we allow them. They can wrap our “leash” around poles of human understanding, knock over trashcans of presumption, and drag us through hurtful memories. They can cause us to focus on things we don’t need to focus on such as another person’s insensitive actions instead of all the other positive things throughout the day. They can keep us preoccupied from seeing what is happening in other people’s lives. They can even keep you awake at night with thoughts of anxiety and depression and “what ifs”. They can even cause you to become angry thinking you are isolated and all alone in a situation instead of reminding you that Jesus understands.

A free to roam thought life can cause a lot of havoc in a person’s life but thoughts kept on a short leash don’t so easily get the best of us. Better yet how about keeping those thoughts hooked to Jesus?

When your thoughts want to cause havoc try these suggestions.

1. Don’t let a destructive and/or fictional thoughts take roost. (Philippians 4:8)

2. Trust and focus on God not your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)

3. Tell God what you need. (Philippians 4:6) (Matthew 11:28-30)

4. Remind yourself of what God has done in your life. (Philippians 4:6)

5. Plan but be flexible knowing God has charge of your day. (Proverbs 16:9)

6. Know God has wonderful plans for you. (Jeremiah 29:11)