SET YOUR MIND - Part Two

Author: Dr. John A. Tetsola
March 06, 2019

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”

Romans 12:2 NLT

If a skunk gets into the crawl space under the house, opening the windows and using air freshener won’t solve your problem! There are people who actually specialize in dealing with skunks.  They’re called “skunk whisperers”. And it’s not cheap to have them come to your home. But it’s worth it to get rid of the problem.  How does all this relate to your thinking?  Simply this:  Your feelings are the odors and your thoughts are the skunk!  To change your feelings, you must go to the source and deal with the thing that produced then—how you think.  

Thoughts produce feelings, not the other way around.  Worried people tend to think anxious thoughts, and eventually those thoughts become so automatic that, like a lingering skunk odor, you stop noticing and learn to live with it.  You get used to “stinking  thinking!”  Your thought patterns become as habitual as brushing your teeth. You get accustomed to thinking bitter, anxious, selfish thoughts that you stop paying attention. 

If you want to change the quality of your life, you must change the way you think.  The psalmist prayed, “Test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Ps 139:23 NIV). God will help you become aware of what’s going on in your mind from one moment to the next.  He’ll direct you to the place where the skunk lives and help you deal with it.  Not only will He show you how to remove wrong thoughts, but how to replace them with the right ones by setting your mind on “what the Spirit desires” (Ro 8:5 NIV).

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