We are already nearing the halfway mark in our eight-week series! This is where the
rubber really begins to meet the road!
Hopefully, by now you have a better understanding of the nature of your soul. As the
seat of your mind, will, and emotions, your soul is the navigational center of your life.
You can harness your thoughts like a sailor harnesses the winds to take you wherever
you want to go. In the words of poet William Ernest Henley, “[You] are the master of
your fate, [you] are the captain of your soul!”
In his timeless classic, As A Man Thinketh, James Allen observed, “All that a man
achieves or fails to achieve is a direct result of his own thoughts.”
Believe it or not, your life moves in the direction of your thoughts. Thoughts are the
ever-present currents that move you either closer or further away from your best future.
This is what makes faith so powerful –- “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence
of things unseen” (Hebrews 11:1). The hopes and dreams you allow to fill your mind
have the power to transform the world around you.
You’ve heard me say that God speaks to you at the speed of thought—and that thought
moves at the speed of light.
As quickly as light illuminates a room, a single thought can illuminate your life. You are
always only one thought away from living the life of your dreams—one decision away
from changing your destiny.
Like short-wave radio signals, your thoughts send messages out on a specific frequency
and are transmitted back to you as an experience or occurrence in your life. Your
thoughts create a magnetic field around you—attracting either positive or negative
experiences.
What you think has the power to literally transform your life!
Your life is what your thoughts make it. James Allen wrote that a person “will find that as
he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things and other people will alter
towards him.”
This is the basic premise of the Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction is based on the principle that we attract into our lives whatever we
focus on as a result of the energy that is exchanged in the process.
Because all matter—seen and unseen—is comprised of energy, the energy created by
our unseen thoughts either attracts or repels the energy matter of what we ultimately
see and experience as a result.
This phenomena is rooted in the findings of quantum physics—which found that nothing
in the universe is static due to the fact that all matter is vibrating energy—raw energy
that responds to the vibrations of our thoughts, so that consequently “what we now see
did not come from anything that can be seen” (Hebrews 11:3 NLT). To repeat, it is the
essence of faith: “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”
(Hebrews 11:1 NKJV).
Everything you see began in the unseen realm. The first book of the Bible tells us that
God spoke the earth into existence—“the worlds were framed by the word of God”
(Hebrews 11:3). Yet before God’s word ever was, there were His thoughts.
The source of all energy—and all matter—is the mind of God. The Creator—the
Great Imaginarian—in Whose image you were created.
Your thoughts are powerful. If you want to change your life, you must change your
thoughts. If you want to unstick or unclutter your life, you must first unstick and unclutter
your thoughts.
How are unhealthy soul toxins and debilitating soul ties created in the first place? How
can you end up cluttering your soul simply by the thoughts that you think?
It is due to this exchange of energy that takes place when you give something your
attention, entertain it in your mind, meditate upon it, and talk about it. What you invest
mental energy in is what you tie your soul to, both positively and negatively.
As currents of electricity create electromagnetic fields connecting positive or negative
charges, your thoughts create similar fields. Your positive thoughts attract positive
attachments; your negative thoughts attract negative attachments. Whatever your soul
can conceive, there is potential for attachment. As a mother will form attachments to the
life conceived within her, so your soul forms attachments to whatever it conceives.
The seed of a thought, like the seed of a life, when planted will always result in an
exchange of energy and therefore some kind of an attachment. Whether aborted or
stillborn, an exchange of energy has taken place.
An exchange takes place through investments of time, energy, attention, and action in
the form of thoughts, deeds, or words. Exchanges can be both intentional and
unintentional.
Sometimes we can be completely oblivious to what we’ve attached our souls—
something may have taken hold in our mind because we inadvertently paid attention to
it for too long. I believe this is why Isaiah stated, “he who stops his ears from hearing of
bloodshed, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil . . . will dwell on high” (Isaiah 33:15-16).
You have to be careful about what you pay attention to—what you spend time and
energy thinking about and dwelling upon. Your life will move in the direction of what
you contemplate. As it says in Proverbs, “Guard your heart above all else, for it
determines the course of your life” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT). What consumes your thoughts
gives you a good indication of what ties your soul.
Our thoughts, intentions, motivations, and aspirations—whether they be secretly
pondered in the heart, openly declared as a desire, or formally written as goals—mold
and shape our personal universe into something either grand and beautiful or base and
hideous. Whatever you harbor in the innermost corridors of your thought-life will,
sooner or later, reveal itself in the outer arena of your life.
Whatever is hidden will eventually be brought to light. First Corinthians 4:5 states that
God “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes
of the heart.”
Just as a seed is for a time hidden underground, it will eventually breakthrough the
surface and it’s true essence will ultimately be revealed.
Everything you see in the natural began as a spiritual seed—a thought.
The temporal realm has its roots in the spiritual. Grabbing hold of this profound spiritual
truth will enable you to make some critical connections that can transform your life.
Once you understand that the spiritual realm is the “causal realm,” you will begin
to grasp the massive power of your thoughts, ideas, words, and prayers—
spiritual things that engineer, mold, and craft the current and future state of your
temporal existence.
Proverbs tells us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he,” (Proverbs 23:7). Your outer
world is a direct result of your inner world.
Every circumstance in life is a result of a choice—and every choice is the result of a
thought. All those things that fill your mind hold the keys to your reality. Make it a habit
to examine what your thoughts are chasing after.
We must learn to harness our thoughts if we are to effectively reign as kings and priests
in this earth. We must understand who we were created to be as children of God and
the authority we have in Christ. We have inherited the kingdom and been given
dominion over all our adversaries—and we must think like it!
We are told in Ephesians 6:12 that our fight is not with flesh and blood, but with powers
and principalities—a fight that can’t be won with our hands, only with our minds. You
must become as skilled in your thoughts as a swordsman is with his sword. Taking
control of your thoughts will cause you to gain control of your life. That is what putting
on the armor of God is all about. (See Ephesians 6:14-17.)
Therefore, the first thing we must do in taking possession of God’s promises is to take
possession of our thoughts. This might not appear to require a great deal of skill or
effort, let alone training or practice, but there is only one thing harder to master than
your thoughts, and that is your tongue! (See James 3:8.)
Winning the battle in your thought-life requires meditating daily on the truths found in
Scripture, studying the Word of God so you are able to prove yourself when necessary,
and becoming an earnest and life-long student of the art of spiritual warfare.
Throughout the New Testament we are told that our battles do not take place in the
temporal realm but in the spiritual realm. We are told in nearly every epistle, “fear not,
only believe” (Mark 5:36), “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:3), “renew your
mind” (Romans 12:2), and “put on the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). We are
taught in Romans that to “set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the
Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).
We are instructed to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” because “the weapons
of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds . . .
every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Every battle is won or lost in the arena of your mind.
If you do not take control of your inner thoughts you will become a slave to the outer
circumstances created by the storm raging in your mind. The divine spirit within you
won’t be driving your life, the changing weather and currents of your thought-life will.
You must command your thoughts as Jesus commanded the sea. (See Luke 8:24.)
Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Your Thoughts
Whatever your predominant focus is, that is what you give permission to exist in your
life. Jabez chose to focus on his future desires rather than his present circumstances.
Many times people focus on the negative and they live in a cycle of negativity. You have
to choose to focus on the positive. You have to train your mind to think on whatever is
honest, virtuous, and praiseworthy. (See Philippians 4:8.)
Whatever is going wrong in your life is a result of your focus. If you don’t like something
you are experiencing, change your focus.
In Genesis 13:14-18, God taught Abraham something about focus. He told him to look
at the territory he was giving him, to walk the land in every direction, and visualize the
expanse of his legacy. He took him to the seashore, had him run sand through his
fingers, and said, “For every grain of sand, you will have a descendant.”
What did God train Abraham to do? He trained him to focus on bigger thoughts. He
taught him how to visualize his destiny.
If you plan to change your future, do not focus on things or people or circumstances that
are smaller than what you are truly desiring.
Your focus will either feed your faith or confirm your fears. Learn to think like
Abraham. Think intentionally, generationally, and even globally. You can never think too
big or God!
You must also train your mind to think in the present—to think positively in the present
tense (in grammatical terms that would be “the present perfect”). Think about the thing
you want, what you hope to achieve, the person you plan to marry, and so on, as if you
are already in possession of what you desire. Condition your mind to accept these
thoughts and you will draw these opportunities and experiences to yourself.
Your success and prosperity hinge on what lies within your mind.
Sometimes the first thing you need to change is what you think God wants for you. He
wants you to live a life of abundance. It is His desire to give you divine universal secrets
to great success and prosperity.
There are many people who may not be as spiritual as you are, but nevertheless they
have been able to tap into something great. Whether by accident or providence, they
are living lives beyond their wildest dreams, and you can too. You must say to yourself,
until this fact becomes a conviction, “God wants me to live in abundance!”
A world of possibilities is waiting to be released “if you can but only believe.” Jesus said
in Mark 9:23, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
In Genesis 11, the people thought to themselves that they could build a tower to
heaven, and because they saw this tower in their minds they were able to build it. God
stopped them by causing confusion and making it impossible for them to communicate,
because the tower became an idol to them. Nevertheless, this story wonderfully
illustrates the power of our thoughts: “Nothing they have imagined they can do will
be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6).
Man begins with a concept in his mind, something he believes he is able to
accomplish; he joins his will and intellect to his imagination, and then the power
of expectation sees it through.
Every great achievement begins as a thought in the imagination of a person. Every
thought is birthed in the spirit. Achievement, therefore, is a spiritual process.
Based on your ability to harness your imagination, life’s opportunities either shrink or
expand. Albert Einstein said, “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my
imagination. Imagination is more than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination
encircles the world.”
Imagination drives the engine of innovation, discovery, problem solving, and
peace making.
Whatever can be imagined already exists; it simply exists in another dimension—in
another form or substance—and that is the source of all inspiration.
God conceived and by His Spirit spoke into existence all that is. He brought what
already was in the spiritual into the temporal by the power of His Word. He breathes that
creative force—His very Spirit—into a human being at the moment a person receives
that Word into their heart.
It is His Spirit—the creative power of His Word—within an individual that gives
inspiration and understanding of what already exists in the spiritual realm. “There is a
spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand” (Job 32:8). That
spirit in you has always existed—it is eternal—and it is the source of all revelation
and inspiration.
Our lives are built by a series of thoughts, much like bricks are used to build a house.
The bricks are what bring the structure forth from a piece of paper and make it threedimensional.
As a man thinks in his heart—in the present active continuum—as he
continues to think—he builds his life one brick at a time.
Your every present thought is a significant building block in determining the quality of
your future. Many of us build lives like shanties while others build mansions. If your
thoughts are inferior your life will be inferior, but if your thoughts are lofty and honorable
you are laying the foundation to live accordingly.
Purpose to think inspired thoughts. Inspiration is a God thing. Inspiration is God Himself
speaking into the heart of a human being. Inspirational thoughts are God’s way of
finding expression through the minds of ordinary men and women. According to Isaiah
29:11, God’s thoughts are always good and not evil. I want to remind you that
God is up to something good, and He has you in mind!
Enlarge Your Territory
There is a direct correlation between the quality of your thoughts and the quality of your
life. What you think determines who you are, it determines what you are, where you go,
what you acquire, where you live, who you love, where you work, what you accomplish,
what you read, and so on.
You will never have more, or go further, or accomplish greater things than your
thoughts will allow you. Therefore, you must create an opulent thinking environment
in order to create an opulent life.
When you alter your thoughts, you alter your life. Your life is a reflection of your most
dominant thoughts and meditations. When you meditate on success, you live a
successful life.
The trouble for most people is that they don’t know exactly what success would look like
for them as individuals, or more importantly, what it would feel like personally. It is not
enough to just meditate on success generally—you need to be specific.
Become the architect of your future. Use your thoughts like an architect uses a
blueprint. Think about every detail. An architect not only thinks about the rooms in a
house, but the types of windows, the size of closets, the location of outlets, and so on.
Nothing is too insignificant. Think big—but think detailed!
If you want to progress in life, you’ve got to think progressive thoughts. To do so,
something new must replace the old. You’ve got to think beyond where you are.
Alexander Graham Bell thought beyond the limitation of the dots and dashes of the
Morse code, and went on to replace the telegraph when he invented the telephone.
Become a visionary—be creative. Take the limits off your mind!
This is the challenge of creative thinking—you’ve got to open the spiritual channels of
your mind so that God can download divine creative thoughts into your brain. When
other people were unable to see what was going on in heaven, Jesus could.
• Spend some quality time with God and ask him to enlarge your capacity for
thinking and imagining—ask him to help you take the limits off.
That’s what Jabez did.
In Chronicles 4:10, Jabez prayed, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my
territory.” Not only did Jabez ask God to expand the capacity of his mind, but he asked
God to protect it as well. He prayed to the Lord that, “Your hand would be with me, and
that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain.”
Jabez knew that every evil thought he conceived would ultimately bring forth pain.
Do yourself—and the world—a tremendous favor by getting the toxins out of your soul
by taking control of your thought life.
This week we are focusing on the characteristics of beauty, effortlessness, authenticity,
focus, and order. Take some time to think about and discuss:
• What your thoughts are on your thoughts.
• How have you experienced “thinking for a change” in your own life?
Proverbs 4:23-27 MSG: Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.
Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and
the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the
dust.
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