Get Out Of Your Head: One Thing

Her is the devotional:

It’s incredible, if you think about it: How can something we can’t see control so much of who we are, determine what we feel and what we do and what we say or don’t, dictate how we move or sleep, and inform what we want, what we hate, and what we love?

Capturing all our thoughts may seem an impossible task, especially when we consider our potential number of thoughts per minute. Researchers tell us that we have over 30,000 thoughts a day. That means we might think about thirty-one thoughts per waking minute. But what if one thought held the power to interrupt our spirals and bring peace to our mental chaos?

The apostle Paul’s own life was a picture of interruption. After the scales fell from his eyes, his mind centered on an entirely new reality. There was no other hope, no other narrative, no other track playing in the background. He stopped the things that had distracted him and let himself focus on one simple thing: “To me to live is Christ,” Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21, “and to die is gain” (ESV). It’s all—always—about Christ.

Paul experienced a massive shift, and now he was a totally different man. No longer was he a slave to his circumstances or his emotions. Paul now chose to live aware of the power of Christ in him, through him, and for him. Paul now had the power of the Spirit—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, and he chose to live aware of and under that power.

God built a way for us to escape the downward spiral of our toxic thoughts. But we rarely take it. We have bought the lie that we are victims of our thoughts rather than warriors equipped to fight on the front lines of the greatest battle of our generation: the battle for our minds.

God, You equip me for this battle against the lies I believe about who I am and who You are. Help me never to feel a victim to my thoughts, because You are already victorious! Amen.

Here are the scriptures referenced:

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21 KJV

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And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:12‭-‬17 KJV

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Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
John 8:44 KJV

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Here are Stu’s thoughts:

This goes back to verse from Philippians yesterday to a degree.

But Paul focused only on Christ.

I think on most days my thoughts out number the 30,000 a day thing. Just saying.

And many times I pray asking the Lord to shut my brain down. That’s my problem at night. It won’t shut up so I can go to sleep at a decent time. It’s like a new battery was put in or something. It’s nuts.

Overcoming our thought pattern is possible. Heck I overcame all my lustful thoughts with a LOT of help from God.

I just wish that those split second thoughts that fly out our mouths were easily controlled. You know the ones…where you can’t even blink before it flys out. Maybe one day I’ll have that back under control.

Any ideas on that?