I am not a big fan of ‘spin doctors.’ I am more comfortable with someone who is straight up with me. There are times when our circumstances are painful and difficult. At the same time, as a Biblical counselor, I also know that where I set my mind directly determines what I feel emotionally. So, it is critical to build the habit of looking for something positive in every situation.
Positive thinking staves off discouragement. One of my Ignite leaders made the statement, “If you think you can, you will. If you think you can’t, you won’t.” I find this to be very true. As soon as a person starts thinking, “I can’t do this,” they are inches away from giving up. There is a Bible verse that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Now, that is a positive mind set. All means all. There is no exception to this principle for the person who has trusted Jesus as their Savior.
As a Christian, I realize that God measures success differently from this world. The world measures success strictly on the outcome of my performance, my appearance, my income and possessions, and my social network. God measures success on my attitude in the midst of my performance. When I submit to obeying God’s will for me and I do the task with the mindset of Jesus doing it through me, I have been successful in God’s eyes regardless of actual outcome of my performance. Living out of this positive mindset frees me from the fear of worldly failure and from the snare of discouragement when my efforts do not yield the results for which I hoped. I have also found that living out of this attitude of total submission to and dependence on Jesus, more often than not, yields positive outcomes from my efforts.
So, look for positive to focus on in every situation. This will help you fend off discouragement and keep you from quitting. Failure is often the backdoor to success, but only if you look at your failures in a positive way!
No comments:
Post a Comment