As I sat down to write this blog I was brought back to when I first started teaching. I remembered as I prepared for it, I used to write it all out. If something didn’t quite line up I would either scratch it out or erase it. The problem was, it was still there: either in a black smear or a scribble.
One day I decided to try something new and I started to prepare my teaching on my computer. When I found that delete button it was a done deal. If something didn’t quite line up all I had to do was hit that delete button and it was cleanly erased. Sometimes it was a word or a sentence, or even a whole paragraph. In fact, just in the few words I’ve written today, I’ve had to hit that delete button more than once. But, what I love about it is that it is truly deleted…you would never know it was there because it is cleanly erased!
Which brings me to the point I want to make today: our mind is very much like a computer that is programmed by the words that are put into it. Our thoughts affect our emotions and the way we respond to the world around us. We have to learn when and how to hit that delete button.
The scripture that comes to mind is:
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
You need to pay close attention to what you’re thinking, and if it doesn’t line up to what God says, you hit that delete button. And if you have to delete it more than once, just keep hitting that button!
The apostle Paul said it this way “Take every thought captive,” in other words, delete it.
When thoughts come into my mind like I’m not good enough, I’m not that talented, I’m too old, I hit the delete button.
Then immediately type in what God says:
I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10)
I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
I am the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 20:13)
I am planted in the house of the Lord and I shall flourish in the court of the Lord, and I shall bear fruit in old age and be fresh and flourishing (Psalm 92:13-14)
It’s important we quickly recognize the thoughts that don’t line up, and we need to delete them quickly.
If we don’t delete them and we keep replaying that thought again and again, they become like a rut in the road that gets deeper and deeper and will keep you stuck on a path that will not lead you to reach your fullest potential.
Positive minds produce positive lives. Positive thoughts are full of faith and hope. Negative thoughts are filled with fear and doubt.
God’s will for our lives is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
That is what God says and it is important we believe it!!! Any thought that is contrary to that, we have to hit the delete button.
Jesus said, “It shall be done for you as you have believed.” It doesn’t mean we can get anything we want just by thinking about it. We can’t manipulate God into doing what we want just by thinking or saying it. God has the perfect plan for our lives, but we must speak and think in agreement with His will.
And quickly delete what doesn’t line up. Another feature I found on my computer is the copy and paste. What a cool feature!!! So when I delete something I just go to the Word of God and copy and paste it right into that clean space.
Scripture tells us we have the mind of Christ…but that happens when it is filled with God’s words, God’s promises, and knowing God’s will for our life.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”