What Am I Thinking?
   Often times it is difficult to keep our minds focused and "keep the faith". We vaguely remember God's promises, we know intellectually that God loves us, but it is soon forgotten after we close our Bibles, books and devotions. The problem with not really remembering and "kind of" knowing is that it does nothing for your healing and recovery.
    You have to know that you know that you know! You have to know those promises and believe with all your heart they are true.
    That's what God means when he says in the Bible in Hebrews 11:6 that "without faith it is impossible to please God".
     That word please means to come into agreement with. Our beliefs about who we are and who God is, need to agree with who God says we are and He is.
     This is easier said than done. Actually training your mind to believe takes work. Learning how to become mindful of what you are thinking and then meditating on truth, are skills most of us do not have.
     Mindfulness requires paying attention to the present moment so as to become aware of what we are actually thinking and feeling. Most of the time we are simply reacting and mindlessly going about our day without much awareness of what is happening internally.
     We can use mindfulness to become aware of the self-limiting beliefs we are carrying around and once we know what we are actually believing we can then use meditation to begin to develop right believing.
     Both of these skill sets require becoming still for a bit which can be frightening if you are used to go, go, go, - perform, perform, perform. To settle down and learn how to still ones mind and focus seems like an impossible task, but its not - we all have the capacity to do this! We have the ability to live without anxiety and dread.
     And more importantly, until we do learn, it will be very difficult to believe. Saying you believe and really believing are two very different things.
     Jesus said to Peter in Matthew 14:31, as Peter began to sink while he was walking on the water "why did you doubt?"
     I hear Jesus say this often to me now. The more I become aware and mindful of my thinking, the more I am aware of how much doubt I actually carry. But I cannot change my beliefs if I'm not even aware that I am doubting.
     Today take one minute, sit quietly and just observe your thoughts. When you notice what you are thinking and feeling ask yourself is it true? Does this line up with what God says? If not change the thought! Align it with God's Word, meditate and speak His truth until you believe it!
                                                                             -Christina Samyan, MSW, LCSW
