Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” said the wise King Solomon nearly 3000 years ago. James Allen picked up on this phrase and noticed how true it still was in his day, prompting him to pen some astute observations in his book As A Man Thinketh.
This is not an academic book, nor is it a self-help book. Mr. Allen states his rationale for writing on the opening pages: “This little volume (the result of meditation and experience) is not intended as an exhaustive treatise on the much-written-upon subject of the power of thought. It is suggestive rather than explanatory, its object being to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that—‘They themselves are makers of themselves.’”
Just as the biblical book of Proverbs contains short observations that are intended to cause the reader to contemplate the outcome of particular life choices and thought patterns, Mr. Allen does the same thing for a contemporary audience. Although you could breeze through this short book quite quickly, I strongly urge you to take your time to ponder just how powerfully your patterns of thought contribute to your everyday actions.
Metacognition is a psychological term meaning to think about what you think about. As A Man Thinketh will definitely stimulate some productive metacognition of your own.
Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. Some of the best definitions of shalom include ideas of completeness, soundness, and wholeness. One Jewish rabbi commented that when you say “Shalom” to someone, you’re really saying, “may you be full of well-being.” Or another way of thinking of shalom is—nothing missing, nothing broken.
Some have tried to describe shalom as the absence of conflict, but that’s not quite accurate. On the verge of going into the Promised Land to fight their enemies, God commanded Aaron to speak a blessing of peace of the people (Numbers 6:24-26). And just before Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,” He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9-10).
Shalom is not controlled by outward circumstances. Shalom is a deep-seated, rock-solid, unshakable assurance that I am in God’s hand.
Isaiah describes how we live in shalom like this—
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind—both its inclination and its character—is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. (Isaiah 26:3)
How do we do keep our mind stayed on God? The Apostle Paul says, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Psychologists call this process metacognition: when we think about what we’re thinking about. It’s being aware of our anxious thoughts that are robbing us of shalom and then talking back to them.
What often robs us of peace is listening to ourselves instead of talking to ourselves!
Someone once asked evangelist Smith Wigglesworth, “Smith, how do you feel?” He replied, “I never ask Smith how I feel. I tell him how he feels!” Exactly right!
Why do we make our thoughts obedient to Jesus? Because one of the titles given to Jesus before He was born was Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), and Jesus assures us that His peace is unlike anything we can ever find in earthly things (John 14:27, 16:33).
God’s peace is always there, but our divided minds keep us from experiencing His peace. So Isaiah tells us to keep our mind steadfast on God’s goodness, and Paul says the same thing—Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7)
I want to encourage you to practice what the Bible calls capturing your thoughts—or what psychologists call metacognition. Ask yourself, “Why am I thinking that?” Capture those thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. Don’t let your worrisome thoughts rob you of God’s shalom.
Join me this Sunday as we take a closer look at the “shalom cycle,” including the things that can derail it.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
Today was the absolute worst day everPsychologists call it metacognition when we think about what we’re thinking about. The Bible calls it capturing every thought (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Sometimes it takes reversing our thinking.
The devil has a singular agenda: He wants to steal joy from your life, he wants to kill any hope you have for the future, and he wants your end to be utter destruction.
Jesus has a singular agenda for you too: I have come that you might have abundant life.
Try reversing your thinking. Try thinking about your thinking a different way.
The devil says, “Life has no purpose.” God says, “I created you on purpose.”
The devil says, “You’re nothing special.” God says, “You’re one-of-a-kind.”
The devil says, “God remembers you blew it.” God says, “I’ve forgotten everything I’ve forgiven.”
The devil says, “This life is all there is.” God says, “You can’t even imagine what’s coming next!”
The devil says, “You’ll never find true love.” God says, “I love you so much that I died for you.”
Reverse your thinking to listen to what God says. Then you will be able to reverse today was the absolute worst day ever to today was a good day!
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I love having Oswald Chambers walk alongside me as I study the Bible. He is like a wise, insightful friend pointing out, “Did you see that? Did you notice what God is doing here? What do you think that means for you?” In Our Portrait In Genesis, Chambers walks with us through the first book of the Bible.
Previously I reviewed Not Knowing Where by Oswald Chambers, which looks specifically at the life of Abraham in Genesis 12-25. In Our Portrait, Chambers turns his attention to the other notable people in Genesis.
As he looks at Adam, Eve, Cain, Able, Noah, and the other patriarchs, Chambers is constantly pointing out the lessons we can learn from their lives and apply to our lives. Because of his training in psychology, Chambers is so skilled at knowing what was going on in the minds of these biblical examples, and then helping us examine our own thinking along the same lines.
Our Portrait and Not Knowing Where are tremendously helpful commentaries to read as you work your way through the book of Genesis. As always, you can’t go wrong picking up an Oswald Chambers book!
Wise King Solomon gave us this advice:
Never say anything that isn’t true. Have nothing to do with lies and misleading words. (Proverbs 4:24)
Most decent people don’t have an issue with this one. We would never dream of whispering to someone we care about things like…
But the verse just before says this:
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (v. 23)
I wonder how many times we whisper words like loser, failure, or stupid to ourselves. The things we’d never say to someone else, we seem all too ready to say to ourselves!
What are you whispering to yourself? Listen closely. Are you whispering things to yourself that you would never whisper to someone else? Then it’s time to start whispering something new.
Solomon preceded this with these words of affection that seem to come right from our Heavenly Father’s mouth:
My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. (vv. 20-21)
God’s Spirit will never, ever, EVER speak cutting, hurtful, unkind, or untrue words to you. God loves you as if you were the only person on earth to love! He loves you so much that He sent His Son to rescue you.
Listen closely because He’s saying it right now, “I love you!”
Yeah, whisper that to yourself instead!
Have you ever found yourself in circumstances that weren’t exactly what you had planned or hoped for? You know, things are just not going your way? What do you do then? How do you handle this? I suggest the first place to start is by thinking about your thinking.
I know that may sound a little unusual, but I have often times had to stop to think about what I’m thinking about. To ask myself, “Why am I thinking that?”
I believe this is what the Bible is really saying when it tells us to take every thought captive. If we don’t, our negative thoughts can lead us to unplanned places and can keep us trapped there. But if we will take time to think about what we’re thinking about, we can discover the key to freedom from that undesirable place.
A few quotes to get us started:
“No man has ever succeeded who kept his mind on negative things… and no man ever rises above his thoughts of himself.” —C.M. Ward
“You are today where your thoughts have brought you. You will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.” —James Allen, As A Man Thinketh
“They themselves are makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master-weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.” —James Allen, As A Man Thinketh
“Only when you assume full accountability for your thoughts, feelings, actions, and results can you direct your own destiny; otherwise, someone or something else will.” —Roger Conners, Tom Smith & Craig Hickman, The Oz Principle
“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. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” —Philippians 4:8, The Bible
Let’s all work on patrolling our thoughts today.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
There is a power in what we say. This is probably most true in what we say to ourselves.
Far too many people are so quick to beat themselves up and run themselves down. Do you ever do that?
The things you say to yourself have got to change. The way you think about yourself has got to change.
God made you the way He made you on purpose. In all of human history, there has never been another you. Right now among the nearly 7 billion people on earth, there isn’t anyone like you.
You are you because God made you. He loves what He made. He loves you!
Perfect? No way! None of us are. That’s one of the few things you and I have in common with everyone else.
Unique? You better believe it!
One of a kind? You sure are!
Good for something? Yep! You have the talents and abilities and personality and temperament that God intended for you to have.
STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP!
Look into God’s mirror and let Him reflect back to you just how wonderful you are! Spend quiet time with your Creator, with your Lover. Hear Him whisper to your heart how special you are.
Then be you. The world needs you to be you. The world is a better place with you in it.
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Years ago I read a book that transformed the way I read and studied. This one book probably caused me to become a more discriminating reader than any other factor. Although it’s less than 50 pages long, As A Man Thinketh by James Allen revolutionized my thinking. Over the last couple of days, I’ve been listening to the audiobook as I have been driving around.
Here’s a quote from James Allen:
“A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. … A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts.”
This is what the Bible says about the seeds of great thoughts:
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
What are you thinking about today? What’s going in? You are making yourself by what you are thinking, so choose those thought-stimulators wisely.
Some snippets from a few conversations I have had the past week—
C.S. Lewis got it exactly right when he wrote, “If satan’s arsenal of weapons were restricted to a single one, it would be discouragement.”
Have you ever worked with someone whose attitude changed after giving his 2-week notice? His job performance slips … his attitude stinks … he does things against company policy … and he justifies it all by saying, “What are they going to do, fire me?” He’s got nothing to lose by acting like a complete jerk!
satan has already been “fired”—he knows he’s got a terrible end coming. And all he wants to do is make other people feel rotten … beat up … discouraged … defeated. He wants to take you down. He’s a jerk!
Did you know that the word devil means slanderer? By his very nature, he only tells lies. Everything he says is intended to harm you. He slings mud at your character, tries to get you thinking you’re no good, turns your attention to anything that’s dark, picks on your faults, jumps on your weaknesses. Like a jerk, he beats you up and beats you down until you start believing his lies.
He is a LIAR!
You are invaluable.
You are a masterpiece.
You are desperately loved by God.
You are integral to God’s plan.
I know you may want to ignore satan’s slandering, to tune out his lies, but can I suggest something else? Listen to them. Listen very carefully. If you are listening closely, you will be able to identify the lies and then demolish them. satan is hoping you will simply accept what he’s saying without analyzing it.
Here’s the next step. After you’ve identified the lies, you have to speak the truth OUT LOUD that contradicts those lies. The Bible says that we defeat satan’s slander by the power of Jesus AND the true words from our mouth. If you’re not sure what biblical truth counteracts the lies that are discouraging you, email me and I’d be happy to help you.
You are so very valuable! There’s a bully who wants to intimidate you, but your Big Brother Jesus is ready to take care of him!
Craig T. Owens 