“Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:22-24
… “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34
“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5,6
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Each morning, we rise with a new dawn, a new day in front of us. This new day is a fresh start. What are the first thoughts that float through our minds?
Are these thoughts fueled with hope and anticipation of the day’s possibilities?
Or, are they thoughts of anxiousness, unsettled concern enmeshed in imaginary negative what ifs?
Our thought life is the seed bed for the lens we will view and interpret life experiences. Like a computer operating system running in the background, these thoughts and underlying beliefs season our attitudes.
Attitudes are foundational to our words and actions, responses to life events and interactions with other people.
Beliefs —> Thoughts —> Attitude —> Words —> Actions
Carolyn Leaf says that we are 99% spiritual, 1% physical. I agree with her.
God, knowing our frame, provides us with practical insights and equips us with strategies for our thought life, daily.
Belief: Lamentations 3 (above) speaks to the truth that God is good; and that His tender mercies are new EVERY morning.
Thoughts & Attitudes: Jesus encouraged his disciples (I recommend reading the broader context of the passage in Matthew chapter 6) to focus upon today, to not spend thought life upon potential worries of tomorrow; and in Proverbs 3, Solomon encourages his son (and us) to not lean on our own understanding.
In writing to the believers in Corinth, Paul encouraged them to take thoughts captive:
“We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
How do we take thoughts captive? This starts with awareness of what we are thinking about and our attitude related to these thoughts. Once we have an internal awareness of what we are thinking, we can then make an intentional choice about these thoughts.
Don’t justify. Be honest with yourself. No condemnation.
In Philippians chapter 4, Paul encourages the believers in Philippi to rejoice (attitude), to be thankful (attitude) and to “think on these things (thoughts).” …….. “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.” (Full context passage Philippians 4:4-8)
Our words and actions are the fruit of our beliefs, thoughts and attitudes.
Jesus said a tree is known by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33)
Fruit is a result. It is an outcome.
To change the fruit, we must first address our thought life. Just as we feed our physical bodies the nutrition it needs to function; we must be intentional with what we feed our hearts and minds through what we read, listen to, and watch.
“Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
