Crossroads

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (New Living Translation)

The difference between God’s Word being in me and God’s Word impacting me is whether or not I apply it to my every day life. I can take in the truth of what God is saying quite easily and I can speak or write that truth to others just as easily. The difficulty comes when I am faced with the decision to implement it into my life and see it make a difference. God’s Word is certainly alive and powerful but I often don’t reap the benefits of that because I stop short of doing what it says….especially in regards to taking my thoughts captive and living out the practical truth of today’s verse.

Many have been the times when my perceptions would take over and I would opt to let them. I told a friend this past weekend that it is like I come to a crossroads in my mind and I fail to move forward in the right direction. Rather than thinking on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable I continue to think on the wrong things. I get a picture in my mind of what I think a situation is or what I perceive another person is thinking and I stay there. While I know it is a choice I make I don’t always know why I make it.

My ray of hope for change came when God let me see this process as a crossroads. A crossroads to me is a place in my mind whereby I can choose to stay where I am at emotionally or mentally or I can choose to step into the realm of truth. It takes mere seconds but I have recently experienced the freedom that comes from crossing over into right thinking. It requires three simple steps. Recognizing when a shift in my mood or feelings has transpired, realizing I am at a crossroads in my mind, and making a conscious decision to take that necessary step toward truth. For now, this is not a daily event…it is an hourly moment by moment necessity. Of the dozen or more times that I have chosen to do this in the last 24 hours it never failed to work…not once!

Being a prisoner of ones thoughts and perceptions is living life at its worst. I rejoice in God who saw my plight and offered me a way out. His Words are not only commands but vital options He will help me to take.

Father, I marvel at the power of Your Word and Spirit working in me. They both serve as my support each time I choose to move ahead at the crossroads. Amen.

Can't Live a Day Without You - Avalon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGCQnwn2hIQ&feature=related

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16