Each day seems to be filled with so many choices that I can get overwhelmed at times. Some choices are more trivial: What am I going to wear? What am I going to cook for dinner? What am I going to prioritize first on my to-do list? Other choices have a greater weight & consequence such as deciding which bills to pay when finances are tight or making and choosing a life-altering decision or direction.
The latter of those choices can leave us feeling powerless at times. No matter what choices or decisions we face, as believers we are never left helpless or defenseless. We have the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth and God gives us wisdom. If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
But, there is one particular choice I want to talk about. It is often overlooked yet it is a choice that we are all-powerful to make every single time! It is a choice that can direct and alter our lives for better or for worse. But first I want to lay a foundation. We hear so much about watching our words, guarding our tongues. Did you know that God watches over His word to perform it? We truly need to watch over our own words. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits - Proverbs 18:21. In the original Hebrew language, the word death can simply mean death, whether natural or violent. It also speaks to pestilence or ruin. The word life speaks to being alive, fresh, strong, merry, quick, running, and springing. Can you see the difference? We can bring pestilence and ruin to someone else with our tongue. We can speak the same in our own lives. How often have you said things such as "Nothing ever goes right for me.", "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.", "I am an accident waiting to happen.", "Nobody Cares", or "My pockets have holes in them", etc... I once knew a fellow believer who literally cursed every single time something went wrong. Every time something dropped, fell, didn't work right, or seemed to be slower than expected, they would literally damn it by swearing and cursing. Things broke down all the time and nothing ever seemed to go right. If it could go wrong it did, even things that seemingly could not possibly go wrong. The very atmosphere shifted whenever the "dam" broke forth. This person was understandably frustrated but I can't help but think perhaps they made things far more difficult for themselves by the words that came out of their mouth. That is just one example of how powerful or words are to frame our world.
Likewise, by our own tongues we can speak something fresh, strong, merry, and also quick, running, and springing. To me, this means we can speak life, energy, and strength over others and ourselves. I have heard it said that a common houseplant will thrive when you speak positive words to it. If that is true for a plant, how much more for you? After all, you are the planting of the Lord. Isaiah 61:3. Whether you speak life or death, you will eat the fruit of those words. Just like a bad tree produces bad fruit and a good tree produces good fruit, so words of death produce death, and words of life produce life.
I recommend to you to read James 3:3-12. To summarize: Even though a rudder on a ship is small in comparison to the ship itself, the ship's direction is determined by the rudder. Likewise, our direction is determined by our tongue. The tongue can contaminate the entire body. Verse 8 says no one can tame the tongue. It is undisciplined and unstable (Amplified). With it we bless God and with it, we curse one another, who are created in the image of God. Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing, death and life! James asks "How can this be?". Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water - verse 12. Jesus tells us in Luke chapter 6 tells us that each tree is known by its own fruit. Verse 45 says: Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. In Matthew chapter 15 Jesus tells us that what defiles and dishonors a person is not what goes into their body but what comes out of their mouth. The words we speak are very powerful. God spoke and He brought order into chaos in Genesis chapter 1. At His words, the world came into being. You and I are created in His image. We have that same creative ability within us! How are we going to use it? Are we going to tear down or build up? Are we going to bring death or bring life to the world around us?
My mother used to tell me when I was young, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all." but that surely would not stop me from thinking it! Yes, whether we are speaking to and over ourselves, to and over others, or to and over the atmosphere, our words are tremendously important! There are studies that suggest we speak about 16,000 words a day! That's a lot of opportunities to speak life and shift atmospheres every single day!
Yet, there is a choice that is more important than the words we speak. It is the choice of our thoughts. That's right, you can choose your thoughts. In fact, you are all-powerful to choose them! Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Phillippians 4:8. The Apostle Paul would not tell the church in Phillippi to "think on these things" if it were not possible for them to choose what they think about.
Proverbs 23:7 For as He thinks in his heart, so is he. Dr. Caroline Leaf, a Christian Neuroscientist who has spent 30 years studying the brain, says this about our thoughts: “We are not victims of our biology. We are co-creators of our destiny alongside God. God leads, but we have to choose to let God lead. We have been designed to create thoughts, and from these, we live out our lives". "When you think, you build thoughts, and these become physical substances in your brain." What kind of substances are you building in your brain? She also says this: “If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." Now if that doesn't make you "think" twice! I highly recommend her books for a deeper scientific understanding of how God created your brain to work.
Did you know that not every thought that pops into your head is yours? Just visualize that cartoon of a person with an angel sitting on one shoulder and a devil on the other shoulder. That picture is more real than we realize. John 8:44 Jesus tells us of the devil: when he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies. To be a liar you have to be lying to somebody and that somebody is you and I. It all began in the garden when he deceived Eve and he has been trying to deceive mankind ever since. Do you ever have not-so-good thoughts where you think, "Where did that come from?" If that thought has fear or torment, it is not from God. I can tell you from both my experience and from hearing the stories of others, that many of our ongoing inner battles and struggles as adults are a result of agreeing with a lie. This happens often during the early years of childhood where the devil who is a thief and your adversary who looks for someone to devour, will set up circumstances in a child's life where they will feel abandoned, rejected, hurt, confused, etc...by the actions of someone else. It is usually someone trusted. That lying devil will come in and whisper "See, no they don't love you. In fact, no one loves you", " No one will understand", or "It's all your fault.", etc... That child unknowingly agrees with a lie, which began as negative thought that was a seed planted by the devil. Those thoughts begin to form a narrative by which the child frames their world. That narrative becomes a stronghold in the mind that leads to unhealthy and perhaps even dangerous behaviors when that child reaches adulthood. But the good news is, we can change our minds!!
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ - 2 Corinthians 10:5. We can cast those thoughts down. We have the ability to bring every thought into captivity. It begins by being aware of our own thoughts. We must be intentional and ask the Holy Spirit's help in this. When a thought comes, ask Him "Is this thought from your Lord?". Romans 12:2 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. In the original Greek, transformed speaks to change. We change by renewing our minds. The word "mind" includes our intellect, thoughts, feelings, and will. How do we do this? For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12. Our minds are renewed through the Word of God that is so sharp, it even divides soul and spirit, joint and marrow. It does what cannot be done in the natural for there is no surgical instrument that can separate joint and marrow. It is a supernatural reality. We are cleansed by the washing of the water of the word. - Ephesians 5:26.
Let me challenge you in a very practical two-step way: First, ask for the Holy Spirit's help in becoming more aware of your thoughts. Simply ask Him: "Is this a thought from you Lord?" The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 14:17 that The Kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace, and Joy. Then, judge every thought or emotion against that Word. If that thought or emotion brings with it heaviness, confusion, fear, or chaos, you can be 100% certain that is not God's thought. It doesn't come from His kingdom so it must come from another. If it comes from the enemy it has to be a lie. Don't come into agreement with it or if you already have, repent (repent means to change your mind), and break agreement with it. Even when God brings correction or direction, even when the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, it is never done with fear, intimidation, manipulation, confusion, etc... He always provides the answer and the way out. Even in a very tough or seemingly impossible situation, He will give you an inner witness and an inner, unexplainable peace.
Remember, Your thoughts lead to words, and by your words, you speak either life or death, affecting others and framing your world. You are all-powerful to choose so choose wisely!
- Learning to live authentically
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