May 24, 2025

Minding Your Thoughts

A Biblical Overview of Obtaining and Maintaining a Biblical Thought Life

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 

Joseph, the espoused husband of Mary, was given a very difficult task. He was to be the stepfather of Jesus, the Son of God. Let’s not pass by this hurriedly or take it lightly. What if it were you? Fear, confusion, and anxiety are just a few of the emotions that Joseph must have experienced.  No doubt he could have just ignored it, rejected it, mocked it, dismissed it, or walked away from it; but he thought on it.  When he found out that Mary was with child his first thought was to put her away privately, but he stopped to think about it.  The Bible is clear on this.  It was while he was thinking about the situation that the angel of the Lord appeared unto him giving him further information on which to base his decisions.

By taking time to think on a matter God has the ability to give instructions that He cannot give if we just react and take no thought on the issue at hand.  Prayer and thinking are close cousins.  As we pray, we think and if we are wise, as we think, we pray.  The thought process is just that, it is a process.  The more serious the issue the more time needed to think it out.  Joseph was faced with a very serious issue and as he thought about it God sent him help that gave him understanding.

Someone once told me of a major decision that they made in their life that turned out to be the wrong decision. This person said they prayed about it every day, but looking back on it they prayed that God would bless the endeavor.  On their testimony this very godly and sincere Christian never once actually asked God if it was the right decision. They simply made their mind up and asked God to bless it. Too late my friend found out it was not God’s will, and it cost dearly.  Someone said, “The problem with experience is that it is always teaching me lessons I don’t want to learn.” How true. My friend learned a lesson that they did not want to learn but needed to learn.

Give ample thought to your decisions; it may be that God will give you additional information that will save you from having to learn a lesson the hard way.

May the Lord bless and be pleased with your thought life today.

Dr. William T. Howe