Thoughts

THOUGHTS

I heard a statement that 60,000 thoughts go through our brain everyday.

As I pondered this it seemed to me that most of those thoughts can be categorized into a few buckets.

Discounting or minimizing our accomplishments and our progress to date.
Discounting or minimizing God's ability to come through when life is tough.
Discounting or minimizing God's promises to us.
Discounting or minimizing our faith in God to fulfill His words to us.
Believing God and believing in ourselves to do well and overcome.

If you had those 5 buckets listed in columns on a piece of paper and checked off each time a thought went through your mind...I wonder which of the 5 buckets would fill up the fastest? (click here to download the 5 thought buckets template)

Consider Abraham, our father of faith, who received amazing promises from God. He was UP IN years (aka "old") when God called him.

He had to wait, exercise patience, endure long, 20 MORE years until God's promise came to pass at its appointed time. "Who, contrary to hope, believed in hope, so that he became the father of many nations."(Romans 4:18)

Abraham's faith was walked out in patience.
It was accounted to him as righteousness.

While we wait, circumstance will appear contrary. Our mind will work overtime to fill those first four buckets.

Bible scholars estimate Moses spent 40 YEARS on his wilderness journey before God could use him to lead the Israelites to their promised land. That would be ANOTHER 40 year journey.

Imagine the thoughts these two guys wrestled with...oh my!

Take charge of YOUR thoughts. Pull down those imaginations and any thought that would try to fill up those first four buckets.

Let His peace be your cloud and pillar of fire leading the way. (Numbers 9:15-23)

Don't allow thoughts to discourage or tempt you to shut down and feel like "what's the use." DON'T QUIT. "Let patience have it's perfect work. Then...you'll be complete, whole, entire, lacking nothing." (James 1:4)

God's plans and purposes will come to pass. Believe Him. Believe in yourself to follow Him. Expect that you are coming into that wide, broad place of His provision.

Hear Him say to you, "Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into My joy!"

 CHALLENGE YOURSELF

1. Which of the five buckets fill up the most during your day?

2. Make a decision to repent and turn from the first four buckets of thought.

3. Begin to declare and decree statements of faith, trust and confidence in God and in yourself to follow the Lords leading in your life.