Past the Limit

I recently listened to a podcast from a leader I follow and he was talking about the principle of limiting beliefs. His podcast centered on the idea of the thoughts we allow that diminish our potential. Most of our limitations begin in our minds and the things we say to ourselves which reduce our effectiveness. It may be simple things such as, “I just can’t ever get in shape.” or “There’s no way I could quit smoking,” or “I’m not a leader—no one would follow me.” These statements reflect a limiting belief we have allowed to hinder our progress and keep us from growing into new things.

I think there is a lot of validity to this theory. I have hindered my own progress sometimes just by the things I said to myself. This doesn’t mean we don’t need to take an accurate measurement of our strengths & weaknesses. I will readily admit there are things that fall outside of my natural gifting and abilities. There are also situations in which I need to overcome my own misguided thinking and take action based on possibility. It’s a careful balance of maturity to be able to accurately assess yourself while avoiding the negative self-talk which can inhibit your growth.

Think It Out

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, 

not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Philippians 4:8

God isn't just concerned with what we do, but is intimately invested in our thoughts. He understands the connection between the focus of our mental energies and our resulting actions. God isn't a punitive, dictatorial God however. He doesn't just tell us what we shouldn't be doing, but gives us directions to fill the gap once we've removed the negative behaviors. Focusing our thoughts in the area God deems best will protect us from ourselves & other negative influences. 

We either pollute our minds and poison the well that we draw from or choose a clear, refreshing source that runs purely through our lives.

Think About It

Proverbs 15:25     The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to Him.

Sometimes my thought life is my greatest enemy. There are some days when it doesn't take much for my mind to wander into places I don't want to frequent. Some of these are familiar difficulties of struggling self-esteem, revisiting old wounds, being haunted by past sins, and exaggerating current circumstances. I can often recognize these old pathways and make the conscious decision to move in a more positive and productive direction. This doesn't always come easily, but the negativity (and sin) that comes from wallowing in it should spur us to do the hard work of transforming. 

God tells us to take every thought captive in an effort to protect us and so that we might increase our devotion to Him through our efforts. While it may seem impossible at the outset of this endeavor, it becomes more manageable with disciplined spiritual training and the increased influence of the Holy Spirit. Our confidence in the promises of God will blossom when we don't allow our mind to dwell on negative & impure thoughts. We will instead experience transformation that leads to lasting life-change.

Penny or More

The art of thinking is highly undervalued. I believe that leaders must spend time in thought about vision, the current state of the organization, the health of people around you, and where God is leading you. It can be difficult to carve out the time for thought, but it is essential to gain perspective and grow.

In the same vein I find that too much introspective thought can become detrimental. While I enjoy the mental stimulation of in-depth processing I find that sometimes it can become overly inward focused. What begins as something positive can shift to becoming too critical of your own motivation, building up of scenarios that don't exist, and detracting from the meditation that should lead us closer to God. It is another reflection of God's directive to take every thought captive so that it builds us up and draws us closer to Him. It is a discipline that we learn to apply correctly as we increase in our Christian maturity.

Who's In Charge Here?

When things go well (and especially when they don't) we want to know who is responsible. We possess a desire to find out who we can blame for the results we see in front of us. Sometimes it can be easier for us to accuse other people and experiences: our parents, the government, our spouse that doesn't understand us anymore, our children that we don't communicate with well, the school system, the church, or that boss that is difficult to work for. We create scenarios in our mind that usually do not reflect the truth, but instead feed upon our own insecurities and shortcomings. We imagine that circumstances are worse than they truly are and create conflicts that don't actually exist. 

When we are caught in this spiraling pattern of sinful, self-destructive thought we have to recognize that we have now let our thought life take charge of us. I know from personal experience that this can be dangerous for the well-being of your soul. Without proper boundaries of godly discipline and prayerful focus these thoughts can eventually lead to decisions that can threaten our spiritual, emotional, and physical health. 

It is a matter of deciding whether we will let our thoughts enslave us or if we will take each thought captive through the power of the Holy Spirit so that there is no doubt God leads our life. It is this slow process of letting God take charge that is necessary for our holistic health and spiritual fulfillment.

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. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Thinkerly

It has been a stimulus filled week. God has been communicating to me in so many different ways and the truth is that I need some time to decompress. I feel the stirrings in my heart of the things that He is telling me through His Holy Spirit and I am excited (and a little anxious) about what they mean. I am still actively listening to Him and know that He will let me know when it is time to take action. For now, I simply list the blessings of this week:

• Good friends who blessed my wife and I with tickets to the Hillsong United worship event
• Good friends who watched our girls overnight so that we could go
• The power of worshiping with thousands of people and hearing voices throughout the arena
• How God spoke to my soul in the middle of that arena as if it were just the two of us there
• Lyrics from the Aftermath album that are more powerful every time I listen to them
• The enrichment from reading His Word and the way it ministers to me
• Lists of thoughts from books, blogs, worship and prayer that I am still working through
• Financial blessings from God due to our trust in Him
• Another adopted child from Compassion-a sweet girl from Kenya named Fiona
• A packed house on Wednesday night for The Next Level-God is using that to grow us all
• Being challenged in worship & teaching at Newspring Church and the Unleash conference
• Unexpectedly seeing old friends from Florida at Unleash
• The camaraderie of staff traveling to and from the conference
• A lead pastor that I am proud to follow and serve alongside
• Springtime weather that has enabled our family to spend time outside together
• Family meals and hugs and love from my girls
• A wife that is more beautiful and loving than I deserve
• Holy Spirit filled worship this morning that is stretching and growing us all
• A Savior that loves me in spite of my many failings and still allows me to serve Him as a pastor.

Captivity

There is a saying that I have used many times over the years in teaching (not my original work)-thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become habits, habits become character. It can be a positive factor in life, but more often than not is a negative. My thought life is something that I struggle with-my mind is often my greatest enemy. I allow thoughts of inferiority to creep in, misperceptions of people and their reactions to me, impurity that frustrates me to no end and even speculation that my imagination runs wild with.

As I was mowing this weekend and my mind wandered (sometimes in positive directions) I reminded myself of the verse in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that challenges us to take every thought captive. As I thought of this verse however, I almost laughed out loud. "Really God? You want me to take captive the thoughts that I can't control even though I try? And what exactly would that look like?"

It wasn't until this morning as I was praying that I realized the only way to take my thoughts captive is to surrender them. I know that seems like an oxymoron-how can you capture something that you need to surrender? That is the whole story of God though-surrendering something/everything and yet finding victory instead of defeat.