Attaining Great Life Through Positive Thoughts
Cultivate Beautiful Thoughts, Think Differently
“Whatever is true, Whatever is Noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
A beautiful woman in God’s eyes cultivates lovely thoughts. She thinks differently from worldly and carnal women. She considers giving time to thinking only of those honorable, commendable and excellent thoughts, anything which is praiseworthy. While carnal women always tend to harbor evil thoughts against people they envy or hate, this woman will reject to entertain unpleasant thoughts against other people even against those who hurt her or those who slandered her. She will always cultivate good thoughts on people no matter how much they have displeased her. She will always find reasons to praise a certain person. A woman may be considered as the most beautiful in the world, but if slandering is a constant part of her daily life, she can never be lovely in the eyes of the holy God. In order for us to find peace, we need to eliminate evil thoughts and focus on what is good, wholesome and holy. We have to control our thought path and reject all kinds of negative thoughts in order to live in peace. We are to abandon thoughts and imaginations that do not bring glory to God. We are to focus on thinking positive thoughts that will enhance our mood and attitude towards life.
According to the late Zig Ziglar, a renowned management mentor and modern day influencer, it all starts with a great attitude to have a great life. If we cultivate a positive attitude towards our circumstances, we will maintain a good mood in spite of the challenges we encounter daily. Our attitude or our reaction towards circumstances depends on our thoughts about it. We have to shape our thought path and start cultivating positive thoughts in order to generate a good attitude towards life.
During the time of King Solomon's reign in Israel, a certain woman of royalty from faraway land visited him. She was the Queen of Sheba. The Queen of Sheba tested Solomon’s wisdom by asking him difficult questions. This woman was amazed by King Solomon’s wisdom and how very well King Solomon managed the palace. Instead of becoming envious of Solomon’s great wealth and wisdom, the queen of Sheba praised the God of Israel for Solomon. She cultivated beautiful thoughts about King Solomon and the God of Israel. According to her, God was so pleased with Solomon for He had made him king of Israel, and God’s love for Israel is eternal for He provided them a king that can maintain law and justice. Those are lovely thoughts given to King Solomon and the God of Israel by the Queen of Sheba. That visit made the Queen of Sheba a remarkable woman that even Christ made mention of her in the Gospel.
(Bible Text : 2 Chronicles 9:1-9)
Inna is such a very sensitive person and can easily be offended by negative reactions from close friends. She really struggles a lot in this area. To overcome this struggle, Inna tries her best to cultivate good thoughts about her friends who offended her. She brings to her mind the good traits these friends possess instead of magnifying their flaws. She reminisces about the good thoughts she can think about these friends and this helps her a lot in maintaining a good relationship with them. If we continue on cultivating positive thoughts about our loved ones and friends, we will enjoy a better relationship with them.
As Christians, we are constantly engaged in a “spiritual warfare,” fighting against forces of evil, from the world, the flesh and the devil. The battlefield of that warfare is often carried out in our own mind and feelings as explained by Asher Intrater in his article “Fortresses of the Mind.”
As it is written in II 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.”
In order to overcome negative thoughts and emotions, we have to program our mind to think positive thoughts. Using the Scriptures, we can program our mind to think favorable thoughts. We have to fill our mind with the thoughts from the Word of God. We have to shape our mind after the principles taught in the Scriptures.
Our carnal nature is such a great fortress to demolish. With our carnal nature, comes our carnal feelings and thoughts. To subdue our carnalities, we have to program our mind with godly thoughts which come from God’s Holy Book, the Bible.
Mara’s greatest battle is her battle with herself. At times she is weighed down by great fear and anxieties. To overcome them, Mara started cultivating beautiful thoughts about the promises of God to believers. Entertaining unpleasant thoughts gives way to fear and anxieties. So Mara cast away all those thoughts and began entertaining lovely thoughts from the Word of God. Beautiful thoughts such as encouraging promises from God’s Word will calm down our anxieties and will give us peace.
Overcome negative thoughts, cultivate beautiful thoughts.
“In order to demolish the strongholds of the mind, let the Word of God dwell richly in your heart.”
-Anonymous-
“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” -Confucius-
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