Dearly Distracted,

You ever had a thought you wish you didn't? A thought you might not have even spoken out loud but as soon as it went through your head you thought "oh snap, that's not so good.Get out, Get out, Get out!

Say that guy that cut you off in traffic...I'm sure none of us have ever thought "I hope they get pulled over and get a giant ticket they can't afford!" It's not just traffic, a lot of things and people can steal our joy, make us react, or upset us in ways we wish they didn't.

Or maybe it's a negative thought about yourself. A lie you heard or something you "failed" at that made you believe you weren't good enough. And once one negative thought enters it's like a wildfire we can't put out.

Fear, anger, failure, resentment,disappointment, comparison, guilt. We think them daily don't we?

And it seems like the more we try not to think about it, the more we think about it. Right?

We harp on it, it ruins our morning and then our day and if we're not careful the next day and day after that. It gives us a bad attitude. We lose hope. We get overwhelmed and frustrated with anything and everyone.

The point is, things that started off as our human nature reacting with a thought turn into things that get at us. We don't want it to bother us but it does, we don't want it to make us unhappy but it did.Well played, Satan. Well played. You dangled the bait (and we all took it)
 
Can I share a little truth I often forget? Satan will use whatever he can to distract us from the real issue: we are saved by simple faith in Christ, not by what we do or don't do.

The thing about "our works" is they can't ever be perfect. We'll get mad, we'll be hurt, we'll get disappointed, and often time we'll react in a way we wish we didn't. We're human. Human nature is going to want to react. Human nature is going to fail many times at "thinking positively". I think often times we forget that. We beat ourselves up or fear the thoughts we have because we know God knows them and we think we disappoint him by doing so.
  
Truth is, we don't. God knows our human nature is weak. He knows we aren't perfect. It's not that we have the thoughts it's what we do with them. We all wish we could think more positively right? Believing if we could just get rid of any "negative" or "bad" thought that things would be a lot better.

Fearing the thoughts and consequently trying to control them, however, turns something normal into a frustrating experience as we set up a vicious circle that gets worse and worse.

This is no coincidence. It is precisely how the human mind works. It is guaranteed that the harder we try to stop thinking about something, the more we will think it. It is inevitable. The only solution is to not try to stop the thoughts. Don’t bother about them at all. By not trying to stop the thoughts we are displaying faith that it is Christ, not our works – not our efforts to stop thoughts – that saves us.So it is with unwanted thoughts and doubts. You don’t fight thoughts and doubts; you fight anxiety by refusing to give in to the anxiety. Thoughts and doubts are not the problem; one’s excessive fear or guilt because of them is the problem.

Unwanted thoughts are simply a form of temptation, and all Christians are tempted. The temptation, however, is not an attempt to get us to think wrong thoughts. Neither God nor the devil cares about the thoughts he puts in our head. The devil’s goal is to get us to doubt the reality of the forgiveness and divine approval and freedom that we have through Jesus Christ.

Victory is not being free from temptation. It would be defeat if God had to remove all temptation because he concluded you were too weak to overcome it. And since temptation takes the form of thoughts, feelings and doubts, victory does not mean not having ungodly thoughts, feelings and doubts. Victory means clinging in faith to the saving power of Christ, no matter how strong the attacks are. It's trusting HIS power, not our own.

I think too often we put so much pressure on ourselves to "measure up" to standards placed on us by society, religion, or most often ourselves. Like we are expected to "have it all together." Maybe to some people we are but not to God. Having bad thoughts doesn't make you a bad person it makes you human! 

The enemy wants us so focused on trying to fight unwanted thoughts and convincing us that they make us unworthy to God that we misinterpret God's love towards us. 

The devil wants us to push God away through being duped into wrongly supposing that ugly thoughts render us unacceptable to the God who is head over heels in love with us – the God who went to the extreme of the cross to totally forgive everyone whose faith is in him.

We (and I mean ME) need to stop wasting so much energy getting sidetracked into self-examination or fighting thoughts or feelings of guilty. No matter how real and scary they seem, they are just cardboard cut-outs. 


The real issure  is whether you believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world – believing that through Jesus forgiveness is available for every sin that anyone could ever commit, provided one accepts it. 


Instead of getting to know how loving God really is, we ignore him by becoming so obsessed with ourselves and so focused on our thoughts and feelings that we end up breaking God’s heart by refusing to believe the magnitude of his love for us. He doesn't want or expect perfection from you he just wants YOU.Relationship with you, Just as you are. 

We get so distracted by worrying needlessly about insulting God with thoughts we cannot control that we unknowingly fall into the devil’s trap of doing the only thing that truly insults God – not believing in the unlimited power of his love and forgiveness.By seizing your attention, getting you worried about the power of your sin, he has diverted you from the real issue – the one that defeats him every time – the power of your Savior.

The bible says "take every thought captive" meaning God knows those thoughts are going to come!



 Remember, however, that neither feelings nor avoidance of unwanted thoughts is the goal. The goal is faith, and faith alone. This is what glorifies God.

Everything else is but malicious diversions diabolically designed to dupe you into diverting your energy into fighting useless skirmishes, while leaving the real issue – faith in God’s goodness and power to cleanse every sin – undefended.