The bad habit of mind that I had engaged in for so long, that habit is dwindling away.
I used to work so hard to catch myself, to catch bad thoughts, to try to make them go away before they would happen, appear in my mind, or worse yet take root.
For the longest time, I was convinced that there were hardships around me, and I had to work hard, do something, feel a certain way so that those bad feelings, those senses of fear and upset would go away.
I really believed that those upsetting elements in my mind had to go away so that I could know and believe that He was with me.
Today, I am learning to reason not from my circumstances to His certainties, but from His eternal certainties to my circumstances. It does not matter how I am feeling. I do not have to counter or argue with my feelings, my thoughts to know that He is taking care of me. I do not have to agitate in mind to make these things true. Not at all.
"4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
This is a great healing, one that reminds me of what Paul writes for all of us to undergo:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1-2)
I don't have to "do anything" about bad thoughts. God does not go away, not does He get angry with me and leave me. It makes no difference. It's truly a life of rest!
No wonder Pastor Prince uses the following cover for his book "Spiritual Warfare":
No comments:
Post a Comment