Think Right!

Now that the 2012 conference is over and we are beginning to consider our theme for the 2012-2013 GEMS year, I'll be posting devotionals here often relating to that theme for encouragement, your own personal Bible study, and background to teaching the theme to your girls this year. These devotionals are written by the GEMS training manager, Lenae Bulthuis.

Let’s think together about the upcoming GEMS theme, Think Right: Win the Fight based on Philippians 4:8.

THINK

For as he (she) thinks in his (her) heart, so is he (she).

Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

Whenever I start a conversation with my husband by saying, “So, I was thinking . . .” the man gets nervous. I don’t blame him. That line of thinking typically involves a plan of action and more often than not, it involves him. In reality, every action (whether it includes husbands or not) originates with a single thought.

When Eve thought about being like God and gaining wisdom, she took action and taste-tested fruit (Genesis 3:4-5).

When David thought about how God delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear, he took action and trusted that God would deliver him from the hand of Goliath, too (1 Samuel 17:37).

When the Israelite community thought about what the ten spies said about the giants living in the land of Canaan instead of thinking on what Caleb and Joshua said about taking possession of the land, they took action and rebelled against God (Numbers 13-14).

When Esther heard about Haman’s wicked plan to kill all the Jews in the land, she could’ve thought to herself – for such a time as this, I’m safe in the palace! If she was tempted to think that, her cousin Mordecai challenged her to think again. He said to Esther, “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape ” (Esther 4:13).  Esther thought on that, took action and interceded for the Jews.

Think about Abraham. If his thoughts would’ve been based on what he saw and felt, he probably wouldn’t have walked up the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac. If he would’ve based his thoughts on his circumstances instead of God’s promises, he would’ve failed God’s test and missed out on the blessing of having descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore (Genesis 22).

It’s clear in Scripture and in our own lives that our behavior follows our thoughts, not the other way around. The book of Proverbs confirms it: For as he (she) thinks in his (her) heart, so is he (she) Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV).

You don’t put chocolate chip cookie dough in the oven and pull out a pepperoni pizza. It doesn’t work that way. Nor can you think one thing about yourself and become someone else. This is why it’s so important that we think about what we think about. Because what we think about determines who we become, studying Philippians 4:8 for the next season has the potential to change our lives forever.

Think on it: What thoughts do you give the most airtime to in your mind? Recognize, for better or for worse, how these thoughts are shaping you.

Our thinking is something we must take charge over. If we don’t, it will control us.

Bruce Goettsche

grace and peace,

Lenae