The things we think about can have a huge influence on the way we live. If we’re thinking about worldly things, we’ll have a worldly focus to the way we live. If we’re thinking about God, we’ll have Him as the focus of our lives. It’s easy to say, but not quite so easy to put into practice. There are so many things that can determine how we’re thinking. Things distract us and take up our attention. Other people speak into our lives. And the enemy can feed us with lies which we start thinking are truths. Once our thoughts are on anything other than godly things, we’re in danger of our lives heading in the same way. The Bible tells us: ‘Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things’ (Philippians 4:8 NIV). If our mind has been distracted from thinking about these things, we can get it back on track. We can ask God to renew our minds. It takes some dedication and effort, but we can also test every thought we have against the truth of God’s Word. ‘Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). We need to be reading God’s Word so that we know the truth. When we’re sure of the truth, we’ll find it much easier to recognise when our minds are being filled with lies instead. And we’ll be able to avoid being easily swayed by things other voices say. Instead we’ll be focused on God’s voice.
