Philippians 4:8,  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ~ if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ~ think about such things.  

What are you thinking about?  What thoughts plague your day?  We all have times when there’s something going on in life and it’s all we can do to keep our heads above water for all of the thoughts that keep running us over throughout the day.  It takes serious effort to ward off those thoughts some days, but we must not allow satan to consume us with lies and fears.  It is his desire to destroy you and to keep you from all God has for you.  How can you fight it?  With praise and worship music and the Word of God.  As you praise God, your faith in Him will grow.  Write down Bible verses that encourage you and carry them with you.  Remind yourself of verses like Jeremiah 29:11-13, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Write it down and carry it with you and any other verses that come to mind that encourage you and then when satan comes after you with all of his lies you can say with confidence, “not today, satan!” 

What are you saying to yourself that is holding you back or what are you believing that someone else has said or is saying to you? Choose to believe what God says about you! God created you with a purpose and He put within you everything you need to accomplish it! The more time you spend with Him, the more confident you will become about who you are! Ask Him to give you the confidence you need and to guide you into all He has planned! Don’t allow negative thoughts about yourself to consume you ~ block them out and choose to focus on God and what He says! No one has the right to say “who” you are.

We all know that our thoughts are powerful things!  What will you choose to focus on today?  It’s time to take all of those things that you are consumed with to God and ask Him to help you sort out what is yours to think on and what isn’t.  Ask Him to help you to give it all to Him.  I know personally how difficult this battle can be, but through praise, prayer and spending time alone with God, we can overcome these attacks on our minds.  If you are consumed with fears ask God to help you trust Him knowing that nothing is too difficult for Him and whatever comes your way, He will help you through it.  Ask Him to make the path clear to you for the plans He has for your life.  God loves you and He wants to walk through this life closely with you and satan is doing everything he can to distract you from it by consuming your thoughts with things that God never intended to be your focus.  

So, today we will end with the same verse we started with:  Philippians 4:8,  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ~ if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ~ think about such things.  I would like to encourage you today to ask God to help you to keep your focus on Him and all that He wants to do in your life, trusting that then truly His best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Evidence is conclusive that your self-talk has a direct bearing on your performance.”  ~ Zig Ziglar