Friday, August 17, 2007

As a man thinks in his heart

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he...

Proverbs 23:7a




A man will never rise above the inward images he believes about himself. Past failures or negative words spoken against him become like ghosts that haunt him. They cause him to hesitate in stepping out when true opportunities present themselves. The thoughts connected with those past experiences can so easily become well traveled areas within his mind. Just as roads or paths that are travelled down time after time after time, they become ruts. Many a person in life has said, "I feel like I am in a rut".

Continual travelling a certain path of thinking will eventually create fortified areas within one's mind; becoming a mindset or a fixed state of mind. As concrete forms itself to the mold around it and then sets itself within that mold, our minds can form mindsets. They conform to the circumstances and the world around us. Once they are set, it can be challenging to change them, apart from the power of God.

The word "thinks" in this proverb, is a word which means to split or to open, to act as a gatekeeper or to estimate. A man has the power to open or to close the gates of his life to influences, events and opportunities that he encounters in life. He does this according to how he estimates or appraises things. The word "estimate", refers to how one judges, appraises or assesses the value, worth or significance of a person or an item, whether it be himself or things around him.

Wrong results are always a product of wrong choices. Wrong choices are the result of wrong thinking. The remedy for any past failure is to turn one's heart and life to Jesus Christ. Christ is the only one with the power to wipe away one's past and give a person a new start.

True success and prosperity begins with the Lord. If you are tired of battling the past failures of your life; if you are in a rut and tired of going down the same path and getting the same results; if you would like a fresh,new start; turn your heart to the Lord. Tell Him, "I am tired of the old. Give me a fresh, new way of thinking, a mindset that thinks like you."