This first week of 2019 has propelled me into a new way of thinking! My word for this year is RENEW. God is wasting no time in my renewal by personally showing me how changing my focus can change everything! Let me give you a couple of examples.
First of all was our trip to Florida for the holidays. We had one of our best trips yet. We were able to spend an entire week visiting friends and family stress free. Everything was falling into place perfectly! Then came the 3 a.m. wake up to a very sick stomach which resulted in my throwing up dinner from the night before and spending the next day with a very sour stomach. I chose to take some medication to soothe my tummy and continue on as planned. Things were back on track and the final day came for us to start our journey back home. Less than 30 minutes into our trip my husband decided to follow my lead and we spent the next 4 hours in a stop and go mode as we pulled over for him to get sick.
The reason I am sharing this craziness is this; We could choose to focus on the end of our trip when things turned bad and a “monkey wrench” was thrown into our “perfect”. Or we could choose to focus on the amazing time we had, that far outweighed the bad ending. In shifting my focus to the best parts of our trip, the bad seemed so insignificant and not worth even mentioning. (Except for this blog to explain my point…lol!) I also have a very difficult time with night driving and since moving to the mountains, traffic anxiety when returning to Florida! Due to Bryan being so sick. I had to get behind the wheel, after dark, on the interstate!! I could have focused on my fear and anxiety and made a difficult situation even more difficult, but I chose to use the weapon of prayer to defeat my anxiety.
The second way my thinking is being renewed is in my work environment. I realized that my tendency has been to focus on the negative things that happened at work each day; store them up then come home and download them all over my hubby. This was not only having a negative impact on my evenings but causing undue stress and frustration in my work days. This first week of the year I have chosen to not talk about work when i get home. We are discovering that there are so many more interesting and uplifting conversations that we can have and our nights are much more relaxed. I have to admit that I am battling to overcome my frustration level while at work but I have the armor to overcome it and know that I will find victory.
Making the decision to refocus can be challenging. But it amazes me how making those decisions can so drastically change the environment you live in. The enemy’s greatest tool is our mind and our focus! His ultimate goal from the time our feet hit the floor each morning is to cause as much havoc as he can and keep our focus on it. The smallest things can grow into the greatest obstacles all by the power of the minds focus.
We have the weapons we need to fight off the fiery darts that are shot into our minds!
“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. Ephesians 6:16
“God’s word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare”. Ephesians 6:17-18 (The message)
We should not be surprised by this warfare. Jesus himself walked it, lived it out and gave His life to conquer it! He then gave us the tools we need to walk this same journey out until He calls us home. The struggle is that we do not pour the word into our minds as much as we pour the world into our minds!! This year I am going to intentionally choose to pour in more of the word and focus on the blessings. How about you?
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2