The Power of God & Positive
Thinking
Think fast – What is the difference
between positive thinking and the power of God?
Only one is real and offers true peace.
Not the only answer but my one second answer. If you've got one to
throw out, I'd love to hear it.
I'm sure we've all heard a line or two
in our time about “the power of positive thinking”. I understand
that more-so now. No, I don't think if I meditate on winning the
lottery that my “positive thinking” will land me a winning ticket
– but I do believe that our thoughts and our focus reflect the
condition of our hearts. Our minds effect our attitudes, and how we
approach the day.
Have you ever noticed if you wake up
thinking it's gonna be “one of those days” - a bad day, that you
do indeed have a bad day? I'll be honest – that's happened
here.
Here's the thing, if we allow our
circumstances to dictate our outlook then our perspective is a little
off. After all, we are supposed to be living in the spirit and not
in the flesh right?
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and
you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
Galations 5:16 [NIV]
“Those who live according to the
sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but
those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on
what the Spirit desires.”
Romans 5:8 [NIV]
This speaks of how we as Christians
should be living with a spiritually minded focus. We can give thanks
in all circumstances because despite the situations we find ourselves
in, we know God is with us in
our hearts and he is an awesome God who loves us. He has our
absolute best interests at heart. Which means we always have a
reason to rejoice, a reason to be grateful and a reason to feel ever
so blessed - even on the days where the car breaks down or on the
mornings you wake up to a coffee can sans coffee grinds (– isn't
that the worst?).
How do
we do this … living in the Spirit (walking with God)? Let's get one
step closer and look at Philippians 4:6-7 (I love this one):
“Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, present your
requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.”
[NIV]
How beautiful. It's our human nature
to worry and even experience anxiety over matters that concern our
hearts or get trapped in our thoughts, but the beauty here is that we
are not expected to carry these worries or concerns around with us.
We are expected to trust in God's goodness and in His Holy
Word and present our requests to God so that we may experience His
peace. After presenting our requests and with the peace of God we
may then reclaim our focus. We may then continue our walk of faith
and be spiritually minded unbound by the flesh. Part of being
spiritually focused is in the next verse of Philippians 4:8-9:
“....whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy –
think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or
heard from me or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of
peace will be with you.”
[NIV]
Sounds much like the power of positive
thinking now doesn't it? I think so, but it's even better … the
power of positive thinking is something one gives credit for good
circumstances to oneself. But – if we do focus spiritually on God
daily and on all things pure, holy, praiseworthy, lovely ...(you know
all those things mentioned in Philippians 4:8) we will find that we
are drawing nearer to Him and so He will draw nearer to us (James
4:8).
The credit for all things lovely, holy,
and pure are all God's doing and by God's will and His grace do we
receive them, and they are God's beautiful blessings to us no matter
how small (or large). By focusing on our blessings we are also
developing thankful hearts for God and all that He is instead of
being chronic complainers like Goldilocks with the porridge, the
chairs and the beds.
We don't want to come across to God as
the toddler sitting at the table with our slice of pie asking why
it's butterscotch and not chocolate, and complaining
about wanting cool whip with it too (as much as we may not want too,
at times that must be how we come across – even then He still
loves us).
Focus is a good place to start. Living
in the Spirit. Let us look to our Creator – God, when we have
something that ails us and let us trust in him to take care of our
concerns so we may faithfully walk forward in the Spirit with all the
love of God in our hearts and all that is good on our minds. Once we
rely on him and understand that His strength is sufficient for us
(2Corinthians 12:9) and we have His peace we will be like shinning
stars in the universe holding out the word of life for all who seek
peace just the same. (Philippians 2:15-16).
After reading this if you have any
thoughts you're willing to impart – please leave a comment.
May God bless you and keep you.
As always, check back for my future
posts :)
