Ladies,
When my husband was deployed to Iraq in 2005, my spiritual journey began. I was determined during that time to find God's plan for my life. Satan took the opportunity to hit me with every adversity and challenge he could think of to keep me from being successful.
He attacked my mind by creating thoughts of fear, worry and doubt. I struggled a lot with controlling my thoughts. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to be thinking.
Then I purchased a book by Joel Osteen called, Daily Readings from Your Best Life Now - 90 Devotions for Living at Your Full Potential. As I read this book, it brought Scripture to light that tells me how I am supposed to think, if I my goal is to please God and live a victorious life.
Online dictionaries define "think" as: to have has an intention; to reflect on; to have as an expectation: anticipate; to center one's thoughts on; to form a mental picture of.
God is my Creator and knows more about me than I'll ever know. He knows that once I allow thoughts to take root (ponder and meditate on them); I will begin visualizing, seeing it become reality, and begin taking action in that direction.
I now understand that my thoughts dictate the direction my life takes. They dictate my feelings, and my feelings dictate my actions. If I allow myself to think about (buy into) thoughts contrary to God's Word, then I give Satan a window to my soul.
Proverbs 23:7 tells us "for as he thinks in his heart, so is he...". This means that what I think in my heart will manifest itself in my actions.
Scripture tells me how to think so that I can live with peace, contentment and with a sound mind:
- "Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable" (Philippians 4:8 GWT).
- "and all their intellectual arrogance that oppose the knowledge of God. We take every thought captive so that it is obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 GWT).
- For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (2Timothy 1:7 AKJV)
- Then God's peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7 GWT).
"Bossing my thoughts" is not optional, it is what God expects of me. It's what the scripture refers to above when it says "take every thought captive". When I do this I am exercising my faith in Him, which is very pleasing to Him.
My journey to becoming the kind of wife that God expects me to be, has not possible in my own thinking. Society does not teach or advocate that as a wife, I submit, honor, reverence and obey my husband and consider his needs before my own.
It has required aggressive and deliberate thought training. It has required faith in God's Word. By acting in faith and making a conscious effort to think, meditate and declare God's Word in this matter, my behavior now gravitates more naturally in that direction.
James 2:18 says "...I will show you my faith by the good things I do." Talk is cheap; behavior is what counts in God's eyes. If I am to be obedient to God's word, it takes demonstrating faith through my actions. However; to act right, I must first think right!
"No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 GWT).
I can attest to this beautiful and blessed Biblical truth. God has rewarded my obedience in ways that I could never imagine possible. I am forever grateful that I discovered what God says about marriage and being heirs together of the grace of life (see 1 Peter 3:7).
I'll tell you more about my spiritual journey as a wife next week in My Journey.
-Pam
