We have lots of stray dogs that travel through our neighborhood. A pair of a rather large breed has set up residence, at least part time, in our yard. They come back often. While I like big dogs, I know whose these are so I can’t claim them for my own. Other dogs come into the yard and repeatedly trash things. They might strew things that are on the deck or they might even try to get into the trash. We holler and tell them to get but they come back again.
Our minds can wander too can’t they? Sometimes it seems that our minds want to linger on the same thing over and over. Bad memories, mistakes, wrong thinking like to show up on the doorstep without invitation. Wrong thoughts like to trash our hearts and minds. Out of nowhere those thoughts show up and try to ruin us. If we let those thoughts stay or feed the memories, they grow bigger and bigger.
The only way to keep our thoughts in line is to practice the presence of God and rehearse His Word. Without God’s presence to guard us and without His Word to remind us, we’ll have a constant stream of stray thoughts playing in our minds. But when we start using the Word of God as our weapon, the only one we have, the spoken Word has much authority and the enemy has to flee.
Oh beloved, God’s thoughts about you are precious! They are good and right and comforting! God’s thoughts towards you won’t leave you reeling in past mistakes or rocking over future fears. Two strays will always want to come into your heart and those are past regrets and hard times. Yes, you’ve made mistakes, you may even be living with terrible regret. But God says as far as the east is from the west is how far your sins are from Him. He has forgiven it all. Everything you’ve ever regretted is under the sea of forgetfulness. Those thoughts may return but you can meet them at the property line of your heart and say be gone! Confessing your mistakes and your sins to God lets you know and the enemy know that you mean business with the Lord. It’s a no trespassing sign beyond measure. There are also troubles you may be dealing with and things can look bleak, but God’s Word is true. The enemy may try to parade your desperation back to you, but again you have a high fence of protection around your heart and mind as you read the Word and speak the Word. As you pray to the Father and ask for His help He’s there. As you look away from your circumstances to the Father’s heart you see that those trespassers in your heart are just vapors. Whatever your problem is, beloved, you have God with you and His Word to speak over it, so that you can rejoice as God cleans the yard of stray thoughts.
How precious are God’s thoughts about you! His Word is True. He goes on to say that His GOOD thoughts about you outnumber the sands. Try counting grains of sand and you will quickly see that the sum of those wonderful thoughts about you, His beloved, are more than you can count. Rejoice in His truth, rehearse it often, spend plenty of time with God and you will see that stray thoughts will cease to be a problem in your heart and mind.
God loves you and He’s for you and that’s an impenetrable fortress no enemy can get through as you live in the light of His Word all the days of your life.
Psalm 139:17-18 How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!
Isaiah 55:9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.
Ephesians 4:23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.
Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
1 John 1:9 But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 103:102 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
Psalm3:3-5 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and He answered me from His holy mountain. I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.
No comments:
Post a Comment