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God spoke again recently, saying, ‘Think grateful thoughts, and search for ways to be thankful, and that will busy your mind enough that it will not wander into dark places.’
I said, ‘Wow!’ Suddenly such a
revelation; to know I’ve thought both ways enough to know the truth.
It is the Lord’s discipline, that
we capture each thought and make it obedient to Him (2 Corinthians 10:5). But,
equally, the Lord knows just how difficult it is for us to do that with consistency.
The mind flits from this thing to
that thing to another thing, always falling foul of itself.
Capable of great accomplishments
that match and better the body, the mind is also weak, tempted by the heart to
abscond.
But the mind is also a powerhouse
of strength — when we take our thoughts and make them captive to obey Christ.
Gratitude is living in the light,
acknowledging the truth in that light, as that light shines into our lives — lives
touched by grace — and outward into others’ lives.
The more I have filled my mind
with little things to be utterly grateful about, the less my mind has wandered
into what isn’t worthy to be thought about.
The issue is simple. Leave our minds
to themselves they conjure up all sorts of fantasies — good at times, but some
dark, and the rest positively evil.
Mindfulness steeped in gratitude
is thinking indwelt with worthiness. To use the apostle Paul’s words, it is
thinking in honourable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, and excellent ways
(Philippians 4:8). Gratitude is something wholly worthy for our thoughts to engage.
It is a safe and positive way to think.
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