By Chris WittsMonday 8 Jul 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
The American Carl Lewis is one of the all time greats in field and track. He collected nine Olympic gold medals, an extraordinary career from 1979 to 1996 setting world records, and he was voted as the world athlete of the century, certainly a remarkable human being.
One day a reporter asked him how it was that he won so often. And he said, I win because I see myself winning in advance and I win because I expect to win. The author, Jack Collis, wrote a book called Yes You Can, and he quotes Carl Lewis. “We will always become what we think about. This is an unalterable law of the universe. It’s impossible for you to constantly hold a thought in your mind that will not in some way manifest as reality in your life.”
Jack Collis interviewed a lot of athletes for his book, he said in hundreds of interviews recorded in the media with the world’s top athletes, each of them has said to win, they have to see themselves winning in advance. So my question to you is ‘how do you see yourself?’ It’s all about what’s going on in our mind. What an intriguing topic this is. People have studied how the mind works. They still can’t understand it.
Trying to understand and protect the mind
The average person can speak about 150 words per minute, but the average mind can understand about 350 words a minute. So no wonder our imagination plays games with us. Although it was Albert Einstein who said imagination is more important than knowledge and I think he was right. Napoleon Bonaparte said that imagination rules the world, so logic will get you from point A to point B. But imagination will take you everywhere, and sometimes it doesn’t work like we want.
There was the story back in 1952 of Florence Chadwick, who wanted to swim California’s shoreline. She’d already been the first woman to swim the English Channel, so she began her journey across the ocean water. But her fear got the best of her. She was scared of sharks, the fog and the chilly water, and she told the boat beside her that she wanted to quit. She’d already been swimming for 15 hours, was exhausted, ready to throw in the towel, and her mother tried to encourage her, telling her she was close. But she panicked and Florence Chadwick gave up. It all had to do with her outlook and mindset. Now I can’t blame her for giving up, but I do admire her for having a go at a most challenging mission.
One of the most helpful verses in the Bible is Romans 12:2 with the Apostle Paul’s instruction. Do not allow this world to mould you into its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by the renewing of your mind, and then you’ll be able to discern what God wants. And whatever He finds is good, pleasing and complete. It’s all about allowing God to renew your mind with a fresh mental and spiritual attitude, learning to think the way he thinks. It’s important to realise that this transformation is an ongoing process. It won’t happen overnight. You’ll need to be patient with yourself, but as you talk with him, you will find his thoughts will come, especially if you read the words in the Bible.
Our minds can become so cluttered with negative things like worry, fear, anxiety and these thoughts can lead to feelings of, well, I’m no good or I’m hopeless. And this is because when the thoughts are allowed to come into my mind, they quickly travel to my heart. That’s why it’s important to speak with the Lord about these negative thoughts. Ask him to help you, and you need good, wholesome thoughts that won’t drag you down. This might seem a strange topic, but God knows what’s in our minds. He knows the words in our minds before they reach our tongue. He is God, after all, he can do anything. And in the New Testament we read what Paul said to young Timothy. He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love and power and a sound mind. Wrong thoughts are not good. They can drag you down. They can lead to wrong actions which not only harm others but harm ourselves. And so everything here comes down to what we’re thinking about. Just as Proverbs 23:7 says as a man thinks in his heart. So he is. We become what we think.
Let’s Pray
Lord, sometimes I do have trouble with my mind. My thoughts, which can be destructive and negative. I ask for your divine grace Lord to give me instead, good thoughts. Wholesome thinking will lead to a good life. And I want to be among those people who do live a constructive and happy life. Amen.