Titus 1

To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. ‭‭Titus‬ ‭1:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV).  Whatever your mind focuses on will affect your choices and actions, will shape your personality, and will ultimately dictate your overall quality of life.  We all live in the same fallen world.  People whose minds are filled with selfishness, pride, earthly desires, negativity, and hopelessness have a hard time seeing the good in the world because of their ungodly perspective on life.  In contrast, those who value purity, righteousness, love, and have a Christ-centered life, will be able to see goodness wherever they go because they are able to view people and situations through God’s eyes.  This story was on KLOVE radio station: A couple went to visit their grandchildren.  There was much debate over which day they should return home.  They finally settled on a day to return and when they did, they found that there was a devastating explosion in their home that completely destroyed it.  The firefighters told them that if they had been home, they would have most certainly been killed.  This couple immediately sent out a text to friends and family thanking God for His sovereignty and His protection.  Instead of fretting and complaining over their loss of property, they were thankful that God saved them and showed them that they still have more work to do on this Earth for His Kingdom.  These faithful believers chose to find the good in their difficult situation and refused to focus on the bad.  The more you fill your mind with good, righteous things, the less room there will be for negative and evil thoughts.  “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.  Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8, NLT).  Note that it says “Fix your thoughts”.  This does not mean that you should occasionally think about something pleasant and good, but it should be a consistent habit.  This also means that you should weed out bad influences that bring temptation, discontentment and evil into your life.  This may include movies, books, video games, hobbies, music, or even people.  And when hard times hit, and you are struggling to see the good in life, turn to His Word!  Scripture is the highest of all things that are “true, honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.”  Fill your mind with the promises of God, how much He loves you, and all that He has done for you.  Do not let destructive thoughts stay in your mind for long.  Recognize them as unhealthy, and get rid of them before you start believing them or acting on them.  Have confidence in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  When evaluating a persistent negative thought in your head, ask yourself if it lines up with what the Bible says.  Use Scripture to fight for you!  “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, … and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:13-14, 17).  Proving that a thought you are having is a lie shows that it is not from God and makes it lose its credibility.  Once you realize this, you can easily push it out of your mind and stop thinking about it.  One other suggestion that has proven effective for crushing negative thoughts is to talk to someone about them.  Hearing yourself speak the words out loud can oftentimes reveal how ridiculous they are, which makes them easy to eliminate.  God wants us to have the fullest, most abundant lives possible.  He designed us to be filled with His peace and His joy.  “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You” (Isaiah 26:3). 

Don’t let negative thoughts discourage you and pull you away from the wonderful life He has planned for you.