Minding Your Thoughts
A Biblical Overview of Obtaining and Maintaining a Biblical Thought Life
Jeremiah 44:21 The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?
Once again, for three days in a row, we read that God keeps some things from coming into His mind. The mind is a tremendous thing, it can help us succeed, or it can cause us to fail. It can encourage us, or it can depress us, it can delight our day, or it can ruin our day. There is within the mind the promise of blessings or the remembrance of failures. The difference in these various extremes is the thoughts that enter our minds. Many find it relatively easy to control their bodies, for this is a matter of the will, but to control our minds; this is not always so easy.
In today’s verse there is a hint of one way that we can control the thoughts of our mind. The Lord said that He did not remember, and it did not come into his mind. One of the amazing things about our mind is that it remembers everything. Consider this concerning sin. Twice in the book of Hebrews we are told, And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17). God has the ability to truly forgive and forget, but we don’t.
We can forgive, but to forget, not so easy, especially for ourselves. We so often forgive in others that which we cannot forgive in ourselves, in part because of our memory. The apostle Paul learned to deal with this. He wrote in Philippians 3:13, “…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” In a sense, we must remember to forget those things that God has also forgotten.
The next time memories of things that rob joy try to creep into your thinking, block them by reciting God’s Word, singing a hymn, or simply forcing your mind to think about God’s grace and goodness. Something, anything, just do not remember them, do not allow them into your mind. One of the greatest strategies for this is to stay busy.
Years ago, as a sales representative for medical supplies I noticed that some of the customer’s offices and departments were always filled with complaining, gossip, and overall discontent. Others were always filled with happy, energetic, and positive individuals. The difference seemed to be the level of busyness. The employees of the busy places had no time for those negative mind games. Perhaps all that is needed is to get busy and stay that way. When busy about the things at hand, there is little time to dwell (remember) about those unwanted thoughts that try to invade the mind. After all, everyone knows the dangers of an idle mind. Or should.
Isaiah may have touched on this in his prophecy 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (26:3) By keeping one’s mind on God and the things of God, unwanted thoughts will find no room.
In conclusion just know this, through the power of Almighty God, you have the power over your mind to keep unwanted things from even coming into your mind. Maybe just get busy.
May the Lord Bless and be pleased with your thought life today.
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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