How to Win the Battle
Theme of the week: The Secret to Joy-Filled Living
Thursday, March 21, 2013
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Key Bible Verse: Always be joyful. (1 Thessalonians 5:16) Dig Deeper: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
You can choose to pay attention to what's present or what's missing, what's working or what's broken, what you achieved or what you messed up, what's available or what's unavailable, what's possible or what's impossible, and what excites you or what frightens you. And, in so doing, you will win or lose the battle for your mind.
If your emotional life today is not where you want it to be, then your top priority should be shifting your attention to your blessings, to your strengths, and to the aspects of your life that are working. Stop talking so much about your mistakes, setbacks, and disappointments. You will experience a deficit of joy when you allocate a surplus of attention to the things that dissatisfy you.
Refuse to fuel negative emotions by constantly talking about what is wrong with your marriage, your youngest child, your sore back, your peculiar neighbors, and the world in general. Instead, broadcast your blessings to anyone who will listen. Verbalize your vision for the future to trusted friends and allies. Turn the spotlight of your concentration to your future hopes and dreams, to the grand and mysterious future that God has in store for you. Your emotional life can advance only after your negative thoughts retreat.
—Tommy Newberry in 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life
My Response: Today I will try my best to focus on those positives highlighted in today's reading.
Thought to Apply: Man is fond of counting his troubles but he does not count his joys. If he counted them up as he ought to, he would see that every lot has enough happiness provided for it.—Fyodor Dostoevsky (Russian writer)
Adapted from 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life (Tyndale, 2012) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.
Copyright © 2013 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
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Father, help me to think about the good rather than the bad, the true rather than the false; even amid difficult and painful experiences, may I turn to you for hope, peace, and joy.
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