The Power of Thoughts

Can genuine joy coexist with heart-rending grief? I doubted it. Not until I experienced it myself would I have believed joy could be so fresh, so vibrant even while grief was so devastating, so painful.

It was February 2011—a mere two months after our son’s death. I wondered if the worst of the grief could be passed. While my guess was wrong, my experience of joy and grief coexisting was real.

That same month, I met a friend for lunch. While I shared the difficulty of facing my son’s death, I also explained how real God’s Word was to me. It was as though the rawness of the grief and the overwhelming sense of my need for God gave me a fresh perspective to feel God’s comfort, appreciate God’s presence, and rely on God’s promises.

In short, I was desperate. I turned to God’s Word. Not for a few minutes of ‘quiet time,’ but to literally soak my mind.

That is why I believe in the power of thoughts. That is why I believe in the power of biblical meditation.

Our thoughts exist in a secret territory. It’s our private room we can lock and control.

In Psalms 139: 1-2, we are told that our thoughts are not secret. God knows our thoughts. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

Beyond our relationship with God, our thoughts impact our words, actions, habits, and character.

Thoughts are important. It’s not enough to merely avoid wrong thoughts. Thoughts should be mined, as the resources they are, to make an impact for good for our spiritual health and the spiritual health of those around us.

During much of our waking hours, our mind has minutes and hours in which we can choose our thoughts. Times when our mind is not fully engaged in the activity at hand. For me, those times include times of meal preparation, housecleaning, personal care, and exercising.

This time is a precious resource. It’s up to us what we will do with our thoughts. Will we allow the noise of radio, music, television, or podcasts hijack that resource? Or will we use some of our thoughts to intentionally fill our mind with spiritual gold—God’s Word? We don’t need to wait for a tragedy to mine the benefits. Even in ordinary days we will find treasure if we focus on truth.

Our thoughts can change our life—for good or for bad. How has prolonged reflection on God’s Word impacted you?