See it and Take No Thought

When I was a child I always heard adults say “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” and typically what that meant was children who were “bored” or unoccupied usually ended up misbehaving, and ultimately getting into trouble because they had nothing else to do.  A common parenting method further applies this concept. Experts say that in order to keep your child from participating in destructive behavior give them an alternative activity. For example, replace the bad item (that thing that is not a toy) with a good item and encourage them to focus on that thing.  I believe that even though this advice  was for parents raising children, it is still very relevant today.

Sometimes negative things happen in our life and if you’re like me you think it to death. Or perhaps someone said something to you and you turn it over and over in your mind until you realize that you have taken offense to it. The other day this happened to me and someone said “You have to learn to see it and take no thought” (I’m telling you it’s harder than it seems). We often underestimate how powerful the mind really is. But God Knows. That’s why Proverbs 27:3 says “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”  Your thoughts will guide the direction of your life. When you spend time dwelling on negative things that people have said or done, you become bitter. When you spend time focusing on your sorrows you become depressed. When you focus on your fear, you become discouraged. You have to learn to see things and take no thought. When something happens that you don’t like, pray about it and move on, that’s what I am learning to do. Don’t think about it over and over in your mind. If I absolutely must discuss it I try to discuss it with someone who can give me godly counsel and I try to limit that to only one person.

You have to learn to focus your mind on things that yield positive results.  The bible says in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Here, the bible specifically tells us what things to think on. Replace the negative with the positive. Your life will go in the direction of your thoughts.