by: Gabrielle Hurst
When things in our lives are unclear, difficult, different or not of interest, it can challenge our thinking. As I get older I feel like my thinking is more challenged – many things that didn’t frustrate my thinking in the past now do. Things such as other drivers, adult children, a new way of teaching at school, and with everything going on in our world (COVID-19 and racial unrest), my thinking has been challenged and “all over the place”. Maybe your thoughts have been consumed with worry, fear, anger, attitude, indifference and confusion. But what about before COVID and all the issues that have taken center stage in our country? What did you think about then? What consumed your thoughts? Anything? Did you focus on your thinking?
God says a lot about our thinking.
For although we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
In this lesson, we are going to take a look at what God says about our thinking, briefly look at a prophet in the Bible who clearly thought about his thinking, and go over some practicals that hopefully will help our thinking.
God Wants us to Be Thoughtful
God wants us to think. So often I go through my days and they become rote. I get up, have coffee, have my quiet time, go for a walk, throw in a load of laundry, text a few people and before I know it the day is over and I wonder what I’ve accomplished. Have I thought about God’s kingdom, his glory, or his people? Have I learned anything new or tried anything different?
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Proverbs 4:26
Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants but in your thinking be adults.
1 Corinthians 14:20
The simple believe anything but the prudent give thought to their ways.
Proverbs 14:15
The wicked put up a bold front, but the upright give thought to their ways.
Proverbs 21:29
God cares about what is going on in our minds. He wants us to mature in our thinking by:
- Being steadfast in all our ways
- Not thinking like children but thinking like adults
- Giving thought to our ways
A famous French philosopher once said, “I think, therefore I am”. God knew the importance of this statement. What we feed our minds will influence our actions, responses, choices, etc. David writes in the Psalms about how he remembers God and thinks about him through the watches of the night. God has designed us in such a way that whatever we put into our brain will determine who we are. So God definitely wants us to think.
But, what should we think about? Do you ever pause to reflect and take inventory of your thoughts? Where does your thinking go – is it mindless? Do you fill it with headlines and news? Social media? Daydreaming? Do you even think? Not only do we need to reflect on our thinking, but also what the things are that guide our thinking. As followers of Christ, we know that God’s word is what should be leading our thoughts. We should be washing ourselves with God’s word, writing it on our minds and on our hearts.
A Prophet’s Thinking
Not only are there plenty of scriptures on the subject, but there are also many characters we can study that are obviously aware of their thinking. When we take a look at the minor prophet Daniel, we see someone who thought about his own thinking. Thinking takes effort, and here we see Daniel thinking about his choices.
Daniel was a young Jewish boy brought into Babylonian captivity. He and a few other Jews were being taught the language and literature of the Babylonians. They were to be trained for three years and then serve the king. Early in their training, they were assigned a daily amount of food and wine. Right away, we see Daniel thinking about what is presented to him. He knew that what he was being asked to eat did not align with his beliefs. I’m sure he thought about words from the Jewish priests. He resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he presented a much healthier plan of vegetables and water to the trainer. Because of his thinking, his knowledge of the Torah, his commitment to God, and acting on his thinking, he benefited. Ten days later, he looked healthier and better nourished than any of the younger men.
In Daniel Chapter 6, we again see Daniel thinking about his choices. An edict had been issued by King Darius (at the insistence of his advisors who were jealous of Daniel’s favor with the King), that anyone who prayed to any god or human being during the next 30 days except the King, would be thrown into the lions’ den. Again, Daniel wrestled with his choices. Was he going to bow to the authorities or was he going to serve the one true God? Would he grow in favor with King Darius if he bowed to him? If he did, what would the God of all creation think? Daniel’s loyalty stayed with his God, and as soon as he heard of the decree, he immediately went to him room and prayed as he had always done. He is thrown into the lions’ den and the next day is able to declare to the king, “May the King live forever! My God sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty!”
Help with our Thinking
We know that God wants us to think about our own thinking and we know that there are many examples of thinkers in the Bible. The following two verses can be used as a litmus test as we evaluate our thinking:
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.
2 Peter 3:1
Here, the term ‘wholesome’ in Greek is eilikrines, which means pure, sincere, and unsullied.
Finally, brothers and sisters, 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
So, we have a scriptural list of what should guide our thoughts. Whatever it is that we are watching, reading, listening to, doing, working on…is it wholesome? Pure? Lovely? Praiseworthy? True? Noble? If not, should we be investing our time in these things?
Here are some other practicals to help guide our thinking:
- Assess your mental focus (Romans 12:3).
- Set up a daily routine. Create space for God. The can make your day more predictable and less stressful.
- Learn new methods to help with thinking. These can include Scripture memory, writing in the text, writing things down, using memory aids such as post-it notes and planners, and setting times on your watch or phone.
- Pace yourself during the day. (Solitude, Sabbath, Silence…be more aware of love, grace and God’s presence.)
- Break complex activities down into multiple, easier parts.
- Pray – specific, journaling, fixed hour, praying the text.
- Do one thing at a time when possible. Multi-tasking can often make things more difficult.
- Prioritize what needs to be done. Do those things first, then less important things later.
- Schedule activities that will require more focus and concentration during times of the day when your thinking is typically better.
- Eliminate distractions.
- Live in the moment – be present in whatever it is you are doing.
- Keep practicing! We can train our thoughts.
So, “What about our thinking?” God wants us to be thoughtful. We can study many characters in the Bible who took captive their thoughts, and there are things we can do to strengthen our thinking skills.
You’ve heard it said that ‘you are what you eat’. Well, we are what we think. Let’s take control of our thinking so that we will glorify God through the choices that we make, which are guided by our thoughts. Let us live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way, “bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God”. (Colossians 1:10