You are the air traffic controller of your mind

NOTE: If you are looking for columns written by people who are experts and have “mastered” what they’re writing about, read no further. I realized this week that I tend to write about things that I’m bad at. That’s right. For example, I’ve written a lot about gratitude. Why? Because by nature I exude ingratitude and I have to “work at that” by keeping a gratitude list. So this week I am writing about being a manager of one’s thoughts. Why? Because I’m not very good at it – at all. Just being honest. Maybe we can learn and grow together.

“When I have irrational, disturbing, negative thoughts, I can replace them with the truth of God in His Word [the Bible],” wrote Dr. Elias Moitinho.

The Bible itself tells us, “Capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:5b, NCV.

That sounds impossible, you might say. I would agree, but we believe in the God of the impossible, don’t we? He wouldn’t ask us to do something unless He’s also willing to empower us to do it. So ask for His help.

From the get-go, let me make one thing clear: we cannot control random thoughts that pop into our minds all day long. And you should not feel guilty about them. The choice we have, however, with every single thought is “Do I want to keep this thought and ponder on it, or do I want to kick it out?”

I love how Max Lucado puts it in his excellent book “Anxious for Nothing,” based on Philippians chapter four.

“You can be the air traffic controller of your mental airport,” Lucado writes. “You occupy the control tower and can direct the mental traffic of your world. Thoughts circle above, coming and going. If one of them lands, it is because you gave it permission. If it leaves, it is because you directed it to do so.”

Lucado points out that our enemy loves to plant anxious, often exaggerated, notions or ideas and it helps to be on the watch for that. Something else that will help? Claim every biblical promise you can remember, and set out to learn a few more.

“Be careful what you think,” we are told in Proverbs 4:23, NCV, “because your thoughts run your life.”

Lucado writes: “Do you want to be happy tomorrow? Then sow the seeds of happiness today. Count blessings, memorize Bible verses, pray, sing hymns and spend time with encouraging people.

“Do you want to guarantee tomorrow’s misery? Then wallow in a mental mud pit of self-pity or guilt or anxiety today. Assume the worst, beat yourself up, rehearse your regrets and complain to complainers. Thoughts have consequences.”

God gives us a list of things we can choose to focus our minds on: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy (based on Philippians 4:8).

When I went through an unusually tough time recently, every day or two I wrote those words in a little chart and then forced myself to think of something I could jot down in each category. Hint: If you can’t think of something for each one, guess what? Jesus is all of those things, so you can just think about Him!

Watch for my next column in this series “Things I’m Bad At.” It will deal with our prayer lives. The third column will broach the subject of growing old gracefully. The good news is that we get to make choices in all of these areas.