Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Perspective. Thinking like God thinks. Trusting Him when we only see the “little picture” and He sees the “big picture”. It is like us looking through a straw at a picture and only seeing a tiny bit of the whole thing. We don’t get to enjoy the beauty of the picture for we are only seeing maybe one color or one little area.
As it is with life…sometimes we are only seeing a small glimpse of what God is doing. We have questions, doubts, and fears. But we can trust God! He has our good in mind and is working in our lives to create a beautiful masterpiece! When Jonah was swallowed by the whale and was in the midst of its belly, he could only see whale everywhere he looked. And yet God saw a different picture. He saw Jonah being used by God, and the city of Nineveh repenting and coming to Him! He saw good things coming in Jonah’s life.
God sees good things coming in our lives, too! He is creating an awesome “picture” of His grace and love transforming us into people that look and act like Jesus! I continually need reminded to think rightly, so therefore I think that to remind you never hurts. Right thinking is a choice you have to make for yourself the rest of your life. It takes deliberate, purpose-driven thinking to maximize your joy and not to settle to live a life of mediocrity. The secret to living an exceptional life tomorrow is a matter of thinking strong, joyful thoughts today!
What we receive will be the result of what we believe. We choose to believe the Word of God; not what we see or feel. It is so easy to be moved by these things, but the Word never fails. It can bring the victory we need. Some cruel person may say one weird thing about you and you believe or think the wrong thing about yourself. Like “having a unibrow” or “being fat” or “stupid”. My brother used to call me bubbles, chubs, and fatty to the point that I would scream “I hate you” to him. I didn’t mean it and would cry in sorrow that I said such things. But I would have to say that I have fought battles with “fat” thoughts my whole life!
It doesn’t matter what others think as much as it matters what YOU think! Choose to think rightly about yourself! We have so much to be thankful for. We have food, water, a house, bed to sleep in, clothes to wear, etc.
Forgive us, Lord, when we grumble or take for granted the many things You awesomely provide. Help us to think rightly. I pray that the women of God would arise and be examples to the world of all that you have done for us. Help us to be fully awake and alive!
