I can’t believe how complicated my Financial Management class has been. I managed to get a ‘B’ in Physics, pulled out an ‘A’ in Economic Statistics, but Sales Forecasting and Cashflow Statements…forget about it. During the first few days of class, I felt like my brain was exploding. It was as if the professor was speaking in an unknown tongue. I heard the words, but I couldn’t make any sense whatsoever of the concepts and principles she was explaining. None of the dots were connecting, and I was so frustrated about it that I didn’t know what to do.
During my college career, I have had to think in a very analytical way for most of my classes, and this kind of thinking really jives with my nature. To tell you the truth, some of my classes have been a breeze because of it. Understanding whether a company is successful from one year to the next, solely based on numbers stacked on a piece of paper—this was a horse of a different color. It just seemed so foreign to me. I resigned myself to believe that I just wasn’t going to get it. I was stuck and in trouble, because the class is a requirement for my degree.
This feeling of being stuck is where a lot of us are. We feel as though we ought to be further along in life. We’ve prayed a lot about it, but it doesn’t feel as though doors are opening and obstacles are moving out of our ways, so that we can see clearly how to maneuver from point A to point B.
In the fog of my frustration, God reminded me of His Word in Psalm 139:14 (NIV), where the psalmist wrote, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” We forget this so easily. God has created us in His own image. We are like Him. We have a physical body with physical senses. We can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell; and just as we have physical senses, we have spiritual senses as well.
Our physical senses are sometimes impaired or short circuited, but this is never the case of our Spirit’s senses. When we learn to tap into the Spirit of Christ that abides within, we can see, hear, and feel through him, and he is perfect in every way. The thing is though, we can sometimes cut ourselves off from hearing, seeing, and feeling (or perceiving) in the Spirit through our unbelief.
We are pretty amazing people because this is the way God made us. Our capacity is extraordinary through Him. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Jesus Christ who empowers and strengthens us. As long as our minds are fueled with this belief, we are able to tap into the resources of the Spirit.
Any time that we begin to think thoughts that are contrary to our ability in God in Christ, we are telling ourselves a lie. Our human (carnal) mind will tell us that we are limited. Then, we go back and remember times when we were disappointed in ourselves, or times when we failed. We begin to allow these thoughts to have centerstage and before you know it, we convince ourselves that because something is challenging or difficult we can’t overcome it.
Instead of allowing ourselves to go down with the gravitational pull of doubt and unbelief, we need to supercharge our senses with the mind of Christ! 1Corinthians 2:16 (ESV) says, ““For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” A mind of Christ is a mind that thinks the thoughts that Jesus Christ thinks. The mind is the gateway to our ultimate realities, creating them as we enforce our thoughts with energy and emotions; so, thinking like Christ is more than essential for the abundant life he made available. When our minds think thoughts contrary to those that line up with Christ, we are out of alignment with the Spirit within us. This causes us to miss the mark.
I had to remember that God has created me (and all of us) with a mind that is extremely capable through the Spirit. I was created to partner with the Spirit in the unique way that God has ordained. I needed to remind myself of this. I also needed to take control of my thoughts and align them with what God says about the challenges that we face.
Our goal should be to measure up to the full measure of Christ, because this is God’s number one agenda for our lives. God wants us to have a strong mind—a ready-made-up mind. We must take authority in the name of Jesus Christ, and understand that we were created to reign in our lives, and it begins with our thoughts. So, I needed to switch gears. I had to switch off the negative ‘I can’t’ and switch on the positive ‘I can and I will through Christ!’ When I did this, the Holy Spirit loaned me the fullness of his intelligence, and I was able to understand Financial Management a whole lot better.
English Standard Version (ESV), The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Taking Control of Your Thoughts” written by Vince Mack. Blessing Beads and More© 2017. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.