Stinkin' Thinkin'

By Andrea Merrell

We demolish arguments and every 
pretension that sets itself up

against the knowledge of God, 
and we take captive every thought

to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

The thought shot through my mind—out of the blue and without warning. It caught me completely off guard and tried to anchor itself in my soul.

What do I do with this? How do I get rid of it? I asked the Lord. Something my former pastor used to say came to mind. He told his congregation that whenever this happened to him, he would say out loud, “that’s not my thought.”

Our thought life is much more important than we realize. The Bible says, “as he (a man) thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7 NASB). In other words, our thoughts shape us into what we become.

If we want to change our life—our words, actions, and attitudes—we must first change our thoughts. One author says our thoughts can be our best friends or our worst enemies. Pastor and author Bob Gass says, “What enters your mind repeatedly occupies it, shapes it, controls it, and, in the end, expresses itself in what you do and who you become.”

Everything we expose ourselves to affects us either positively or negatively—where we go, who we hang around with, what we read, what we listen to, and what we watch, especially the media. It’s a difficult battle to fight, but we’re given the tools in Philippians 4:8: think on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

If you’re tired of walking around with stinkin’ thinkin’, it’s time to live beyond your feelings and your circumstances. It’s time to let it go and “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5 NKJV).

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and David Castillo Dominici.)

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If you’re tired of stinkin’ thinkin’, let it go and “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Click to tweet.)

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