The Power Thought That Leads to God's Good Plan for Your Life
God has a good plan for your life, but if you want to experience that plan, your mind has to be renewed so you can think like God thinks.
I remember a time when I didn’t understand that God had a good plan for my life. Because of the abuse I experienced throughout my childhood, I expected to live a second-class life. But once I made a serious commitment to grow in my relationship with God and began really studying the Word of God, I was able to get past this lie. I can honestly say now that my life has become better and happier than I ever imagined it could be.
Renewing my mind with God’s truth was the key to my breakthrough in living the life Jesus died for me to have. As I’ve studied the Word, I’ve discovered what I call “power thoughts” based on Scripture that have been instrumental in helping me get there.
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Colossians 3:2 (AMP) says, “Set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.” We need to set our minds, and keep them set, on things that benefit our relationship with God and prepare us to make right choices when temptations come.
One decision we need to make and set our minds on is “I don’t make decisions based on my feelings.” This is such an important power thought because people tend to make most of their decisions based on what they feel like doing. It’s easy to see how this can cause trouble because emotions are unstable-when we follow them, life is like a roller coaster and we get stressed out. Have you ever made a decision in the heat of emotions and then wondered later, “Why did I do that?!”
We cannot just live by emotions and expect to have the full blessings of God in our lives. For example, if you don’t go to work because you don’t feel like it, you will probably end up without a job. If you lose your temper whenever somebody does something that upsets you, you won’t have healthy relationships. If you decide to eat junk food all the time, you won’t feel good. And it’s usually not smart to make decisions about whether you should buy something just based on how you feel about it.
Emotional decisions like this cause regrets, create debt, and cause us to give up on things we should stick with or start things we can’t finish. Then we can’t keep our word, we say things we don’t mean, people don’t trust or respect us, and we disobey God.
We need to learn to slow down and let emotions calm down before making decisions. I like to say it like this: Let emotions subside before you decide. I’ve learned to walk away from something I’m emotionally excited about and wait a day or two before making a decision about it.
We have free will to make decisions, but God has given us the Holy Spirit so we have the ability to do what’s right – whether we feel like it or not. The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we moving at God’s command, in His timing? That’s how we live in God’s good plan for our lives.
If you struggle with making decisions based on emotions, I have good news for you: You can learn how to live beyond your feelings. Meditate on the truth of God’s Word and renew your mind so you can live the life God has for you. Get your thinking straightened out, and then your life will get straightened out.
Start by making these decisions: I’m going to love God with all of my heart, whether I feel good about what’s going on in my life or not. I will obey God whether I feel like it or not, and whether I get what I want or not. I will love God in good times and bad times. I’m going to serve God passionately because He is worthy of my love and affection. And I will let my emotions calm down before I make important decisions because if I don’t, I’m going to end up in trouble. I will not make decisions based on my feelings.
