Have you ever stopped to think about what you think about? What thoughts move in as soon as you’re not intentionally thinking of something else? Very likely, those thoughts are controlling your life.

“You become what you think about all day long.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Haman, in the book of Esther, helps us understand this.  He had everything he could want: wealth, power, and prestige. But he didn’t appreciate or enjoy it, because all he could think about was that Mordecai the Jew would not bow to him. That thought eventually consumed him to the extent that he conspired to kill Mordecai and all the Jews in Persia. As the story unfolds, we find that he is caught in his own conspiracy and it costs him everything, including his life.

We must not let a past hurt, a present situation, or a future concern rob us of all God has given us in this present moment. We don’t want to be like Haman – getting hung up on one troublesome thing and then missing everything else God has given.

Instead, let’s choose to think about things that draw us to God – His Word, His creation, and His actions in the world. In fact, Paul gave us a good list in Philippians 4:8 when he told us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

As we pay attention to our current thought habits and begin to develop new ones, we will notice that we become more joyful, useful, content, loving, and engaged. Everything changes when our thoughts change. Try it!

“Search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. ” (Psalm 139:23-24)