Philippians 4:8 "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; ."
What we allow to be to be in our minds very often determines what comes out in our words and actions. I use that word "allow" because I am learning in my own life, that I don't have to receive and dwell on every single thought that comes into my mind. One of the biggest struggles I've had in my walk with God has been my mind.
When the Lord began to prompt me about doing a daily devotion, I really made a decision that I didn't want to write anything about myself or my life..I wanted to encourage all of you from the word of God, and to direct all of you back to Him daily. I want Him to be our focus..but today, I feel the need to share a little with you from my life, because I am hoping that for some of you who struggle with your thought life, you will begin to realize that you are not alone first of all. Secondly, I hope you will begin to see that as the Lord is bringing me through this process and changing the way that I think, He can do the same for you. I wish I could tell you that it has happened quickly for me..it hasn't. But, there is a renewing of my mind that has taken place and I am still in the process. I thank God that even though I may not be where I want to be, at least I am not where I used to be!
I grew up not knowing the love of a father. If I could describe my dad in one word, it would be "indifferent"...I always felt like he just somehow felt stuck, being a husband and a dad..his heart was never in it. The rejection I felt from him as a child quickly took hold in my life, and I grew up as a young girl, afraid that no one would ever love me. When I married at l8 years of age, the man I married was abusive, both mentally and physically. After several years of this abuse, I remember sitting on the bed one night, and actually feeling like my mind had just snapped. I couldn't explain what was happening to me, but I felt as if something in me was just broken. I don't know how else to explain it. I remember that night very well, as the tormenting thoughts raced through my mind that something was very wrong with me..that I had gone off the deep end, that I was having a nervous breakdown, that I would never be normal again.
I don't know if any of you have ever gone through anything even remotely similar. I hope this will minister to someone today. As the weeks, months, and even years after that night passed by, I saw myself as flawed. I thought I was "different" from everyone else on the planet. I didn't think that I had all of my "mental faculties". I began to think that I was stupid. I thought that I couldn't work because I would never be able to learn anything. These thoughts went on and on. I wasn't happy, and I was so ACCUSTOMED to not being happy, that I didn't know any other way of life. Being unhappy was normal. Being depressed was normal. Thinking that I was less than other people was normal.
Beloved, My prayer is that you haven't been through some of the battles that I've been through..but IF..if this even remotely touches a place in your heart, then I need to share with you that there is hope. When I began to truly seek God in my life, He began gently speak to me. He began to not only show me that the love He had for me was great..but He began to show me that I was in a battle. It was a battle for my thoughts. It was a battle that revolved around God's truth vs. satan's lies. He began to show me that I had been deceived! He began to show me that I had believed things about myself and my life that were not even true. I had gone through some deeply hurtful situations, from which I never thought I could recover, and God began to show me that not only was that a lie, but I had believed many lies about my life for years. I had believed that I was unlovable. I had believed that I was of no worth. I had believed that I could never be normal...and there is so much more..but the bottom line is, all of what I had believed was NOT TRUE! I had believed that I could never get over things. I had believed that my mind was just gone. I had believed that I could never go forward...NOT TRUE!!!!!!!
When the Lord revealed this verse to me, and others like it, because His Word is alive..and it reaches into the very depths of our souls, it began to change me. I began to realize that God loved me. I began to realize that because He loved me, He must have a purpose for me. I began to BELIEVE that His plan for me was good. I began to know Him. I began to know that He wanted to help me to take EVERY thought captive. I began to know that when the enemy came in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him. I began to understand that no weapon formed against me will prosper.. I began to believe that every tongue that shall rise against me to judge me, I will be able to refute because this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
As I write this, I have been hit from nearly every side with darts of the enemy. Just this morning, Ray and I talked about the fact that satan is trying to take us down..through events that are happening at Ray's job, through hurtful words that have been said to us, through exhaustion and even confusion from having a very full plate, and being unsure about some things in the future. Beloved, I may not always know much..but I do know this..God cares about what is happening to you. He cares about what is happening to me. If I keep my focus on what is going on around me, I will likely fail...but If I keep my mind focused and my heart focused on Him..if I fill my mind with all of the wonderful things that I DO know, there wont be room in my mind for those ugly thoughts that come and try to take over my mind, and destroy my focus. When those negative thoughts come..and they do come..with God's help, I can quickly dismiss them as lies, and get back to focusing on the goodness of God. I love the words of Psalm 91, and I will end with that today. These are the words of the Lord Himself speaking, in verses 14 - 16..."Because he (all of us) hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him; I will sethim on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver Him and honour him. With long life will I satisy him, and show him my salvation." Beloved children of God, I hope that this is where you will all dwell today. I hope that no matter what discouraging thoughts may come into your mind about your life or your situation, that you will meditate on the words of God Himself...that you will be reminded that when you call upon Him, he will hear you and answer you. I hope that you will know that He will be with you in trouble. May your thoughts today be of Him, and may you be reminded that He has given you a sound mind. It is true that every one of us faces real situations that need real attention and real prayer..but as we go through each and every one of those situations, may we be assured that we can stand firmly planted on what God says. We can believe it. We should never believe that we are incapable, weak, not smart enough, or unable...God has not made us that way. He has made us capable. Our strength is in Him. We have something the world doesn't have..that's His wisdom, that gives us the ability to see into situations the way that He sees into them. Ask Him today to permeate your mind. He will certainly do it.
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