“For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”
My grandmother was a wonderful woman. She was generous and kind. She also was controlled by fear. If you were talking to her, one of the topics of conversation was inevitably going to be what she was worrying about that day. She was scared of being a victim of violent crime. She was scared that she would not have enough money. She was scared that something bad would happen to one of her loved ones.
While my grandmother chose to allow these negative thoughts to dominate her life, it did not have to be this way. She could have just as easily have chosen to allow positive thoughts to control her life. Rather than focusing her energy on thinking about what might happen, she could have focused on the present and those things that she could actually control.
It is the same for all of us. We all struggle with worry, fear, anxiety, and other negative thoughts from time to time. We all have a choice, however, as to where we are going to let those thoughts take us.
Each of us is controlled by how we think. Our thoughts are taking us somewhere. The Old Testament book of Proverbs is full of practical advice on how to use our minds and hearts to take us where we need and even want our lives to go:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.”
“You can lie down without fear and enjoy pleasant dreams.”
“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.”
“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future.”
How do you control where your thoughts take you?
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