I may not see in front of me, But I can see for miles around when I look over my shoulder, and Lord, it`s clear. You`ve brought me here, So faithful every step of the way. What can I do but follow you, For You are the Way, the Truth, the Life, And You`ve promised never to leave me, My Savior, my friend, From beginning to end.
I Am Found In You
by
Steven Curtis Chapman
Finally, brothers, 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. Philippians 4:8 NIV
The last step to living in joy, step four: Think about the right things.
If you and I want to continue to have a joyful heart we have got to change the way we think.
The human brain is the most complex computer ever created. Just like a computer, you will spit out what has been programmed in. If you put garbage in your mind, you’ll get garbage out. Proverbs 23:7 says “As a man thinks, so he is.” You are what you think about. (Scary thought?)
What do you think about most? What are the dominant thoughts going through your mind each day?
I think we live in a world that says “it’s not enough”. We are never rich enough; never strong enough; never thin enough. Today’s athletes are never good enough. Drive-through restaurants are never fast enough. The "good little Christian" is never righteous enough.
If you and I allow the world or even the church to control our thoughts we will always think about things we should have, wish we had, or just got to have. We'll never feel we measure up to God's standards. And our natural response will be to worry or fret when we don’t get them or when we aren't who we think we need to be. We’ll loose the joy God intended us to have.
If we want to have a joyful heart and if we want to be more like Jesus, we’ll have to change the way we think and start thinking more about the things of God. We do that by consistently spending time with God, reading His Word, and talking with Him through prayer. It also helps to hang out with people who are thinking likewise. We tend to want to think like the people around us. We need to listen to God's truths and not to the so-called "wisdom" of the world.
Take these four steps in this series and write them on a piece of paper. Stick them somewhere you will see them often and make this a practice in your life. You’ll find yourself living with more joy.
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