By Amy Peterson, Office Manager, River of Life Church
If you don’t like the thought you had, have another thought.
Have you ever stopped to think about what you are thinking about?
All day long thoughts come to you from every direction. Thoughts come from the circumstances you are facing, from what people said or did to you or what you said or did to others. Your thoughts may seem random like they simply come out of thin air.
However, have you ever thought about the fact that you have a choice about what you think? If your thoughts are not producing good fruit, such as, love, joy, and peace, then you can choose to have another thought.
It says, in Philippians 4:8 (TPT) “Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.”
You don’t have to act on every thought you have. You can choose to only dwell or think about things that are uplifting and full of joy. You have the choice as to what you think about. Anything that anyone has ever done whether good or bad started with a thought. That thought then turned into an action. If you want your actions to be good, healthy, and wise that bring good results into your life, you must be careful about what you are thinking.
Your thoughts frequently dictate your emotions. If you find yourself worried and afraid, stop and think about what you are thinking about. You can usually trace it back to a point in time when a thought came to you, and you began to dwell on it. The “what if” thoughts caused the fruit of fear in your life. Once you have identified where the emotions of fear have come from you can decide to change your thinking.
You can choose to think the best of others. You can choose to not allow someone else’s actions to dictate your emotions. If someone treats you poorly, instead of thinking how awful they are, choose to believe that they must be having a bad day, or they would not have treated you that way.
You don’t have to believe every thought you have. You can always have another thought.
We would love to meet you. Come visit us at River of Life Church, located at 410 E. Chapman Rd., Lutz. For more info you can visit www.roltampa.org. 813-949-9931