"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." -Philippians 4:8
She appeared to be a model housewife discreet, happily married, the mother of two children who were almost grown. Though surprise did not register on my face, I did not expect the words that followed as she said, "It's my thinking.... I just cannot help some of the things that come into my mind. Then I feel dirty and cheap. What am I doing wrong?" In a sex saturated society men are not the only ones who have problems with their thought lives. Yet we either control our thinking or our thinking controls us.
"What kind of movies do you attend?"
"We do not go to the movies as a rule, and if we do, it's pretty much Walt Disney." No problem there.
"What kind of magazines do you read?" Again, no problem. I began to prod deeper, for your thinking is usually a product of what you feed into you mind. "Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established,” says Proverbs 16:3 (KJV).
A scientist friend says that in the world of computers there is a saying that goes, "Garbage in garbage out!" This means that whatever is programmed into a computer is going to come out, but this was no problem with the middle aged housewife who had come for counseling.
Most psychiatrists would tell her she had a hang up with sex, that she was living with a Victorian code of ethics and should forget the whole thing; yet she had a problem because she felt that God condemned her for some of the thoughts that popped into her mind.
Martin Luther said that you could not stop the birds from flying overhead, but you could keep them from building a nest in your hair. "Look," I finally said, "it is obvious that these thoughts are not the result of what you grew up with, or what you are reading or spending your time doing; therefore, it may well be that Satan is planting some of these thoughts in your mind to destroy your peace and bring condemnation and guilt to you."
The advice and counsel that I gave helped her, and I believe that it will help you as well. Do you have problems with your thought life? Then,
Guideline #1: Control your thought life by programming it with positive thoughts from God’s Word.
I am fully persuaded that psychological healing comes to the mind as God's Word is fed into the inner core of your psyche. This, of course, means that you eliminate suggestive reading materials, movies, magazines, or the lyrics of song, etc. that bring to mind immoral or sordid thoughts. Replace the negative with the positive.
Guideline #2: When you are assaulted with improper thoughts, visualize your taking those same thoughts and giving them to the Lord.
Quietly say, "Jesus, I do not want these. I didn't ask for them any more than I would ask for a virus, so I'm asking You to take them." Is that hocus pocus, or does it work? Paul wrote the Corinthians and said, "…Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV).
You will find a direct parallel between the thoughts that I believe Satan plants in your mind and the thorn in the flesh that Paul described as a messenger of Satan, which came to buffet him.
Nevertheless, when it comes to your thinking, you can be fully confident that God is the author of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV). Simply put. You either control your thinking, bringing it into submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, or your thinking will control you. It all depends on who is to be Master.
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