Stop allowing your mind to “go off the deep end” into doomsday thinking. Assuming the worst possible conclusion is not the fruit of faith. Neither is it healthy for your mind, emotions, spirit, and body.
At all costs, steer clear of the “dark side.” You can’t afford to obsess on melancholy thoughts. Instead of reminiscing over your pain, ruminate over your gains. Instead of dwelling on your unfaithfulness to Christ, focus on His faithfulness to you. You must deliberately choose to meditate on your blessings rather than your bruises.
‘As a man thinks, so is he.’ This means your thoughts define you. Your thoughts are very powerful. They predict your future. What you become in life is the consequence of the thoughts you dwell upon day by day. You must lasso those renegade thoughts and make them captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5).
Your mind must master your emotions, and not the other way around. As you verbally THANK GOD for your advantages, you are programming your mental outlook with faith.
Life’s battles are fought primarily IN THE MIND. And you can win these battles by studiously refusing harmful thoughts and carefully choosing the right ones. The way to displace bad thoughts is by replacing them with faith-filled meditations.
So filter your thinking. Qualify each thought before permitting it to fill the arena of your mind. Only dwell on things which are pure, honest, just, lovely, excellent, virtuous, and praise-worthy (Philippians 4:8). Eliminate everything that does not pass the test. In so doing you will master your thoughts, instead of becoming enslaved to them.
Harold Vaughan
