How often do you think about your thoughts? Hmm, let me think about that.
Thoughts matter a great deal to God. The Bible says, “the word of God is living and active, . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Psalm 139:2 says, “You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar.” Jesus says in Matthew 15:19 that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” And we confess every week in church that we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed.
God knows what we’re thinking. And that can be a scary thought because we often think like sinners, not like the saints we are in Christ.
Thoughts keep us up at night with anxiety about the future, guilt about the past, and doubts about who we are as children of God. Thoughts dictate our words and actions, and yet I don’t often pray that God would purify my thoughts, cleanse my brain, or plant His Word more firmly in my mind. But I should.
Think About These Things
Paul writes in Philippians 4:8:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Okay, Paul. That sounds great! But how do we do that? How do we really know if our thoughts are pure, if they are from God or from the devil or our sinful selves? How do we know if our thoughts are true? How do we know if our thoughts are lovely?
Well, we can start by praying like David did: “Try me and know my thoughts!” (Psalm 139:23). We can go to God’s pure, true, and lovely Word and check our thoughts against God’s truth in Holy Scripture. And we can lay our thoughts at the foot of the cross of Jesus, who forgives us all our sinful thoughts and fills us with His Spirit to fix our thoughts on Him.
Reframing Thoughts with Scripture
When a thought pops into our mind, we don’t often pause to examine it, much less pray about it or look to God’s Word to decide if it’s true. But I’m challenging myself and you to do just that. Here is just one example of how to pause, examine a thought according to Scripture, and then take some action steps to reframe that thought according to what God thinks, not what we think.
Example thought: I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough, not patient enough. No one can help me. God must not be listening.
- Examine and reframe with Scripture: That thought is not a pure, lovely, or true one. Look at what God says:
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- “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
- “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
- “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2)
- “This is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.” (1 John 5:14)
- Action steps: Read God’s truth again and again in these verses. Confess your sins. Pray for strength and patience. Pray for others to lift you up. Pray that God would draw near to you and fill you with His grace and power.
Our thoughts don’t need to control us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can hit the brakes. We can stop a sinful and untrue thought in its tracks, examine it according to God’s Word, confess it to Jesus, and then meditate on His truth instead.
As we reframe our thoughts according to what God says, not what we think, then those pesky thoughts won’t get any further than our heads. Our thoughts of worry don’t need to make us into worriers. Our thoughts of temptation don’t need to lead us further into sin. We give those thoughts to God and let His Word change them.
And when our thoughts change, our lives will change too. And that can be a powerful witness to a world that so desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus again and again.
Scripture: ESV®.
Download this month’s Everyday Faith Calendar, which focuses on the healing miracles of Jesus. You will find short Bible readings and prayer prompts for each day.
