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Reordering Our Thoughts

Reordering Our Thoughts

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. — Joshua 1:8

What consumes your thoughts most days? When given the chance, where does your mind wander? Are you frequently overwhelmed with worry or stress? One of the best things to do when that happens is meditate on God’s truth and love.

In the Bible we quickly discover that God changes us by changing how we think — through the reordering of our thoughts.

In Joshua 1:8, we are told to guard God’s Word. Keep it close to our lips and mediate on it day and night.

Meditating is not the absence of thinking; meditation is the act of thinking rightly. When God instructs us to meditate, He is not asking us to empty our thoughts, but rather to focus our thoughts on Him. To meditate on God’s Word is to measure it carefully, thinking about a verse or passage over and over again. It is to keep coming back to God’s Word and fixing our hearts and minds on the goodness of what God is offering us.

As we meditate on God’s Word, we can allow God to change us by:

  • Thinking about what is excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).
  • Allowing our minds to be controlled by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:6).
  • Feeding our minds regularly with the truth of God’s Word (Romans 12:1-2).
  • Resting and reflecting on God’s promises (Psalm 62:1-2).
  • Praying God’s Word (Nehemiah 9:6-37).

Maybe instead of reading four or five chapters of your Bible today, God wants to you to slow down and meditate on just one verse. Let it soak in. Fight off every lie that is attacking your mind. Order your thoughts around what is true.

Allow God to change you by changing your thoughts!

PRAYER

Father, Your Word is a lamp unto my feet. Teach me to slow down and fix my thoughts on Your truth today. Guard my thoughts from doubt, discouragement, and lies. Fill my mind with Your Word, and allow my thinking to be controlled by Your Spirit so I might experience greater life and peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Excerpted with permission from Settle My Soul by Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk, copyright Karen Ehman and Ruth Schwenk.

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Your Turn

Where do you struggle most with your thinking right now? How can you begin to meditate on God’s Word today? Come join the conversation on our blog!