Tag: desires

What exactly is your hope in?

Recently I had read Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” This made me think about hope and how it affects us. How do you respond when something you desire does not happen? What type of mood does it produce in you? These are a few questions we will look at.

“Hope 1) a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. (expectation desires)” “2) means want something o happen or be the case. (expect, anticipate)”

It is obvious that hope deals with expectations and desires. But what is the root the foundation of our hope is it in something or someone? If you place your hope in people or things you are setting yourself up for disappointments but if you are placing your hope in God, you will have a solid rock to rely on.

We all have expectations and desires for certain outcomes in life. And that is a good thing but if the desire or expectation has not been met how do you handle the disappointment? Here are few different ways people handle disappointment.

Some people handle the disappointment with bitterness. They stew and brew over the situation and blame someone else. This is not productive. The bitterness eats away at the soul it is not healthy nor does it generate life.

Some individuals handle disappointment with self-pity. Self-pity makes the person feel bad about themselves. This also is an unhealthy way to deal with disappointment. Self-pity wants you to indulge in it and it will open the door to situational depression. This also does not produce life.

With both these outcomes it shows us that the hope was in something or someone instead of in God. The bible gives us many verses to place our hope in God. Placing your hope your desires and expectation in God and on his word is the solid foundation.

1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

A Biblical hope is’ confident expectation in God.’ What if it still does not happen the way you want? Then go to God for the answer. I have experienced times where I thought something would go a certain way I was expecting, and it did not. This is when we must reevaluate. Is this God’s will, plan and time?  Was I asking and expecting my will in the situation?

The perfect plan is God’s not ours. His desire is for you when you are his child but understanding where your hope rests is important to overcoming in disappointment. Place your trust and hope in God. Be filled with his word put your expectations in God and you will be at peace.

Disappointment do’s and don’ts

The Marvelous Mind & Know your thoughts!

What is your mind and how do you know your thoughts?  Knowing what’s the function of your mind helps you to know your thoughts.  These are questions that will help you to overcome and become conscious of your thoughts.

Randomly letting your mind wander in any and every direction can lead you down the negative paths of fear, anxiousness, and overthinking.  Then your mind will dwell there and finally produce depressing thoughts and emotions.

Knowing what’s on your mind is a way of recognizing the thinking and adjusting those thoughts in the onset.  It takes some practice but when we choose to refocus on healthy, positive or uplifting things redirecting becomes a habit.

For example, last night I woke up four times and it took me longer than normal to go back to sleep.  As I laid there a strange thought about life and death came to my mind.  I started to think about our health, ages etc. and then I said to myself ‘wait a minute I’m not thinking this way.’  It left as quickly as it came.  Those weren’t my normal thoughts an enemy of my soul tried to make me fearful I refused it.  This is just a small example of how out of nowhere you can think thoughts that don’t originate in you and if they do you still can refuse those thoughts.

The mind consists in three functions “thinking, feeling and wanting” or another way to say it “thoughts, emotions and desires.”

Your thought, emotions and desires are connected.  When we know our thoughts and choose on what we want to think on we will begin to redirect our thoughts and emotions.  Over thinking, analyzing, turns into fretting and descends into emotions of distress, anxiousness, fear, unhappiness and depression etc.

The Bible teaches us to keep our mind on good things, pure things and good reports.

This Bible passage teaches us how to not be anxious.  Through prayer and thanksgiving give it over to God.  In Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be  made known to God; 7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”   When we take these anxious, worrisome thoughts and give them and all the areas there concerning us to God His response is peace.  Only His peace can guard the heart and mind.  Jesus purchased peace for us, and peace of heart and mind is part of it.

I like how the Bible tells us how to apply it by thinking on these things in Philippians 4:8 states, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy meditate on these things.”

Meditate here means just that, turn it around in your thoughts all these good things.

Another good scripture that I like to lean on is found in Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.”  Once again, a promise of perfect peace with a practical application.  I love how practical God is.

Why so we can have peace.  Peace on the inside with our thoughts/thinking, emotions/feelings and desires/wants.  Truly our minds are marvelous.

When we ‘know are thoughts’ we’re recognizing what we are thinking and then we will begin changing our wrong thinking quicker.

What does that mean to me this means when we recognize our thoughts and take accountability for them in our thinking, we can change how we’re thinking.  You have a choice on what you think on.