Judges 16:1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
Both good and bad habits start small. “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C Maxwell. Big achievements are a result of small beginnings. The multimillion dollar company “Apple” was started in a garage. Good habits that yield great success also start in the workshop of our mind. Life changing and transformative decisions are made between our ears. Defeating an ugly, prideful, lustful or judgmental thought is the pathway to a pure mind. Victory over thoughts does not come overnight. It only comes by small efforts and techniques that are repeated day in and day out.
Bad habits also start small. It starts with a thought or a chat that turns into a catch. Judges chapter 15 concludes that Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines. However, the next chapter condenses his downfall in one phrase. ‘He saw a prostitute’. Gaza was the Philistine metropolitan city. The enemy was terrorized when they saw Samson. There was curfew in the Gaza strip when Samson was in town. The Lord had endowed on him a tremendous power that the enemy trembled at the sight of Samson however, he saw, lusted and fell into temptation. “Sin will take you farther than you ever intended to go, it will cost you more than you ever expected to pay, and it will keep you longer than you ever intended to stay” – Ted Haggard. Sin made him revisit the city over and over again and trapped him in adultery. A wrong decision will give us instant gratification but will leave long term damages. Unbridled gratification accelerates unbridled desire. Samson’s frequent visits to the prostitutes ruined his character and stole his strength.
The second good habit to nurture would be “Controlled thoughts”.
Start small – bridle your thoughts:
1. Condone: An average person has 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day, this means between 35 and 48 thoughts per minute, per person. Research says that 80% of our thoughts are negative and almost 95% of these thoughts repeat every day. Discard negative, demeaning and self-damaging thoughts. Negative thoughts are like slow poison. It will kill if we are careless. Defeat and condone negative thoughts.
2. Construct: The technique to capture negative thoughts is a conscious decision. Refusing to dwell in self-pity, anger or rejection does not help us to overcome pessimistic thoughts. Replace unconstructive thoughts with productive or innovative thoughts. Deconstruct destructive thoughts and construct insightful thoughts.
- Create: Creative thoughts don’t just download into our head. We must create a headspace that is stress free, calm and relaxed. Prayer closet is a good place to receive creative thoughts. Reading, blogging, and writing stimulates creativity. Thinking time should be part of our busy schedule if we want to remain creative. Create room for creativity.
Capturing negative thoughts and constructing creative and positive thought patterns every day and every hour will transform average into excellence. Start small – start today.
Proverbs 23:7a For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
Prayer: Father God, help me to capture debasing thoughts and replace them with ingenious and insightful thoughts. Amen.
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