WHIRLWIND
A whirlwind comes together when hot and cold air come together. When hot and cold air collide in the right conditions, a whirlwind is started. Given the opportunity to gain momentum, a whirlwind will grow to become a storm of great force and anything that gets in it’s path will be changed and usually not in a good way. Look at the devasation in a town after a tornado hits. That is what can happen in our minds. Our minds can be like a whirlwind spinning around and tossing thoughts here and there, keeping us hurt, upset, confused, or negative. We become unstable. Nothing is tied down or safe in our minds when it is like this.
We go from one relationship to another, one job to another, one church to another; hot and cold, up and down, always finding something wrong with someone or something. It can all go back to our minds. Our thoughts. If we harbour or dwell on negative or insecure thoughts long enough they will keep us unstable, unsettled, and in constant turmoil.
Stress, worry, tension, anxiety, anger, fear, suspicsion, doubt, bad perception, etc…are all things that our negative thoughts can create and they can affect so many things about our lives, if we do not get them under control. Sometimes we can allow our imaginations to run so wild that we’ve convinced ourselves that certain things are accurate, true, or reliable when they are not. We push people away, avoid people, and run from our problems because of these false or negative thoughts that bounce around in our minds like a whirlwind touching down in an midwestern town.
In a booklet I read by Dr. Donald Shorter entitled “Take Control of Your Thoughts” He gives 5 steps to overcoming these negative thoughts. 1. Receiving. We must be willing to receive positive and accurate thoughts from God. When we are negative thinking, it’s hard to let postive thoughts in or to hear God’s voice. 2. Analyzing. We must be willing to analyze the thoughts that we receive into our mind and decide whether they are good or bad, positive or negative, or from God or not. 3. Accepting or Rejecting. We must then after analyzing a thought decide whether we must accept it as accurate or true or reject it as negative and false. Again God will help us with this is we ask. There is no middle ground, you can’t avoid this, we must accept or reject every thought that comes in our minds. 4. Replacing. By this point hopefully you are casting down some thoughts about yourself, others, or a situation that wasn’t right. Step 4 will help us grow by replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Innacurate thoughts with accurate thoughts. 5. Renewing. The final step in the process is renewing our minds to be more like God’s or be more positive or think more accurately. This can be reading more of God’s word, spending more time focusing on Him, confiding in christian friends, or reading books, etc….
Receiving. Analyzing. Accepting or Rejecting. Replacing. And Renewing. A 5 step process to destroying the whirlwind going on in our minds so that we can healthy relationships with God and others. So that we can have peace and purpose in our lives. Maybe you are like me and struggle with the thoughts in your mind, I think we all can learn, mature, and grow in our thinking so that we can become better people and the people God wants us to be.
“Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect.”
A whirlwind comes together when hot and cold air come together. When hot and cold air collide in the right conditions, a whirlwind is started. Given the opportunity to gain momentum, a whirlwind will grow to become a storm of great force and anything that gets in it’s path will be changed and usually not in a good way. Look at the devasation in a town after a tornado hits. That is what can happen in our minds. Our minds can be like a whirlwind spinning around and tossing thoughts here and there, keeping us hurt, upset, confused, or negative. We become unstable. Nothing is tied down or safe in our minds when it is like this.
We go from one relationship to another, one job to another, one church to another; hot and cold, up and down, always finding something wrong with someone or something. It can all go back to our minds. Our thoughts. If we harbour or dwell on negative or insecure thoughts long enough they will keep us unstable, unsettled, and in constant turmoil.
Stress, worry, tension, anxiety, anger, fear, suspicsion, doubt, bad perception, etc…are all things that our negative thoughts can create and they can affect so many things about our lives, if we do not get them under control. Sometimes we can allow our imaginations to run so wild that we’ve convinced ourselves that certain things are accurate, true, or reliable when they are not. We push people away, avoid people, and run from our problems because of these false or negative thoughts that bounce around in our minds like a whirlwind touching down in an midwestern town.
In a booklet I read by Dr. Donald Shorter entitled “Take Control of Your Thoughts” He gives 5 steps to overcoming these negative thoughts. 1. Receiving. We must be willing to receive positive and accurate thoughts from God. When we are negative thinking, it’s hard to let postive thoughts in or to hear God’s voice. 2. Analyzing. We must be willing to analyze the thoughts that we receive into our mind and decide whether they are good or bad, positive or negative, or from God or not. 3. Accepting or Rejecting. We must then after analyzing a thought decide whether we must accept it as accurate or true or reject it as negative and false. Again God will help us with this is we ask. There is no middle ground, you can’t avoid this, we must accept or reject every thought that comes in our minds. 4. Replacing. By this point hopefully you are casting down some thoughts about yourself, others, or a situation that wasn’t right. Step 4 will help us grow by replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Innacurate thoughts with accurate thoughts. 5. Renewing. The final step in the process is renewing our minds to be more like God’s or be more positive or think more accurately. This can be reading more of God’s word, spending more time focusing on Him, confiding in christian friends, or reading books, etc….
Receiving. Analyzing. Accepting or Rejecting. Replacing. And Renewing. A 5 step process to destroying the whirlwind going on in our minds so that we can healthy relationships with God and others. So that we can have peace and purpose in our lives. Maybe you are like me and struggle with the thoughts in your mind, I think we all can learn, mature, and grow in our thinking so that we can become better people and the people God wants us to be.
“Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect.”
Romans 12:2(New Century Version)
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