Its 6.00am and the alarm rings. The buzz of the alarm clock rings in John’s ears but he ignores it. Minutes later *buzz* *buzz* and he jumps up from his bed, checks his watch, to see the time; “SIX FOURTY-FIVE AM, I’m going to be late” he scream, then he moved swiftly from his room straight to the shower. By 7.15am, the front door of his house is slammed shut as he approaches his car suited and booted for his job interview. He scrolls through his email to confirm his interview time slot; “8.15am and an hour to drive there, I should be fine”. He does a final check on his notes, he feels unprepared then a check at the mirror to find out that he forgot his tie in the house. He panics as he began to think; its 7.25am already, I can go to the interview without a tie, I’m going to be late”. Then within a split second, he starts the engine, reverses his car out of the driveway and begin the journey to his interview.
20 minutes into his journey, John switches on his stereo. The time reads 7.45am; he looks at his right-hand mirror to see if there was any approaching vehicle. With the lane all clear, he speedily overtakes the car in front of him. After overtaking the car in front of him, John notices a flash from his rear view mirror. Disheartened in being caught by the speeding camera, John carries on with his main focus of not being to late.
As he approached to exit off the motorway, he began to notice a hold up with loud hunks from cars and a single red flashing light ahead. Within minutes the lane he was on was at a standstill due to a major accident preventing cars moving. He checked his watch to see the time reading 8.10am. Many thoughts came rushing in; “I am late already, what is the point of going now? don’t bother calling your interviewee, they probably wouldn’t be impressed? I am not even ready for this”. With all this going on in his head, John decided to take the roundabout lane which was clear and he made his way back home. Has he approached his front door, he looked down to find his tie laying lonely on the floor. He sighs, picks up his tie and dusted the shoe print off it. He shut the door and headed straight back to bed.
Couple of hours had passed by and John was woken up by a voice message from his phone. He reached out to see a message that read new voicemail from 0207 335 2810. Recognising the number, he listened to the voicemail. Hi John, my name is Sarah from Adcom Financial Services. You were scheduled for an interview today at 8.15am with the Financial Director, but you didn’t show up. We had you as one of the best candidate for the role so its regretful to not have heard from you or seen you today. The vacancy has now been filled so we wish you all the best in your job search. With fear in his eyes John hung up the voicemail and dropped his phone on the floor, sat up by the frame of his bed and thought; how I wish I….
“You cannot stop the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair”
What thoughts do you dwell on?
What are the things we think about the most? Do we focus on what Proverbs 4:23 states: above all, keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life. Or do we take in every thoughts that comes to our mind when faced with a difficult situation. Martin Luther once wrote, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” Thoughts are like this and they will always be around. All the time, the schemes of the enemy is for us to believe something that isn’t true by putting unwanted thoughts in our mind. For his main goal is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind”
But through Christ Jesus we have the power to overcome and not to give in to these thoughts. We are able to choose to accept or reject unwanted thought from staying in our mind and taking control of our life. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).
Here are two ways to help us in becoming victorious with our thoughts:
Be sober-minded
Be sober, be vigilant: your adversary, the devil, is walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8)
Judas Iscariot was famously known as the one who betrayed Jesus Christ. Being one of Jesus’s disciples didn’t make him immune from the schemes of the enemy. For the thought to betray Jesus was kept in Judas heart before the action was carried out. (John 13:2).
“For the enemy’s main goal is to steal, kill and destroy”
Sometimes we face thoughts in life that are contrary to the spirit of God. This could come through temptations where we have thoughts to do things that goes against our walk with God. For some of us it could be condemning thoughts which accuses us that we aren’t good enough, smart enough or strong enough. Let us be reminded that God is not a Father of condemnation (Romans 8:1). Neither does He allow any temptation to suppress us to a point where we cannot bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Therefore lets be encouraged to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might; putting on display the whole armour of God (Ephesians 6:11).
Keep you mind fixed on Jesus
We live in a world where we face challenges every single day. It could be at home, at work or at college. Just as John found himself being overcome by the various thoughts in his mind, leading him to make the rash decision to drive back home; we sometimes allow this to happen to us too. Whilst the enemy is always prone to pounce at our most vulnerable periods to fill our minds with unwanted thoughts, lets be reminded that we can choose to accept or reject it. We have the freedom in Jesus to choose what is in line with the Word of God from what is in line with the lies of the enemy.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4:8)
We all would be faced with thoughts that are unwanted, tempting, condemning, full of accusation and deception. So rather than dwell on the things that are not true; let focus on what is just, pure, commendable, lovely and worthy of praise. For when we stand firm and obey God’s Word and resist the thoughts the enemy suggest to us, He will flee from us.
