Joyce Meyer - Power Thoughts: 12 Strategies to Win the Battle of the Mind

Copyright 2010 by Joyce Meyer

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures are taken from the Amplified Bible. Copyright 1954, 1962, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scriptures noted NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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Scriptures noted NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

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ISBN: 978-0-446-57485-3

Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind.

Anonymous

O ne of my favorite sayings is, Where the mind goes, the man follows. I wholeheartedly believe our thoughts lead us, charting the course for our lives and pointing us in certain directions that ultimately determine our destinations in life. Our thoughts cause us to have certain attitudes and perspectives; they affect our relationships; they determine how productive we will be personally and professionally; and they greatly influence the overall quality of our lives. We absolutely must understand the power of thoughts!

For instance, if you begin to think about starting your own business, getting a college degree, improving your health, or eliminating your debt, and you are really serious about itwhich means that you firmly set your mind in that directionyou will eventually do it. Your goals may change as time goes by. Or perhaps life, as it so often does, will twist and turn along the way, putting you in a place you never expected to be and creating new options that you hadnt even considered. A good example of this can be seen in the life of a friend of mine. Several years ago, she decided to move across the country even though that would mean leaving a career of many years and starting over. She gave notice at her job, and in a thriving real estate market she put her house up for sale and started making plans for the move. Who would have expected that a sudden major real estate slump would leave her with a house that wasnt worth the balance of her mortgage? With too little savings to sell at a large loss and make up the difference, she stayed in her home and found another job that was below the level of her old one. As a result of working for her new employer, two years later she met the man who would become her husband. Although her initial goal wasnt realized, she would tell you with great assurance that deciding to move was the best decision she ever madeeven though she still lives where she did all those years ago. Had she not taken the steps she did, she is sure she never would have met her husband.

I firmly believe that each thing we do in life gives us experience for the next thing we will do and that our thoughtful planning is perfected by God as we place our trust in Him.

Success in every aspect of life begins with a thought; so does failure. If you think you cannot do or attain something, chances are you will not be able to. Your mind has that much influence over your life.

Just think about it. Take a moment now to consider the successes and failures of your life. What kinds of thoughts were you thinking before and during your greatest achievements? And what kinds of thoughts filled your mind before and during your most significant failures or missteps? Can you see how your mind has worked either for you or against you over the course of your life?

Many times, we succeed in life because other people encourage us and we think about their affirming comments to the point that we believe them. Anyone who has ever been told You can do it! knows how easy it is to turn those inspiring, confidence-building words into a thought. When You can do it becomes I can do it, then it happenswhether its scoring a point in an athletic competition, making a good grade on a test, getting a job, losing weight, or buying a house. When we believe or think we can do something, then somehow, somewayeven if we face challengeswe still manage to get it done. The same is true when we think negatively and come to believe we cannot do something. Discouraging words from others and thoughts such as Im not smart enough, attractive enough, talented enough, or diligent enough often become self-fulfilling prophecies. Why? Because they become ingrained in our thinking to the point that they exert influence over our decision-making processesand where the mind goes, the man follows.

James Allen, a British philosopher around the turn of the twentieth century, said, All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. The way we think is far more powerful than we often realize and our thoughts impact every aspect of our existence, either positively or negatively. Whatever we think and believe feels real to us, even if it is not true at all. If we think something is true, we respond and act as though it is. Our thoughts affect our relationships, our self-image, our finances, our health (physical, emotional, and spiritual), our productivity at work and at home, the way we manage our time, our priorities, and our ability to enjoy life.

The connection between our thoughts and the rest of our lives is clear in Scripture. Proverbs 23:7 says, For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. In other words, we become what we think. If we think positive thoughts, we will be positive people enjoying fruitful lives. Conversely, if we think negative thoughts, we will be negative people with no joy or success.

Let me be clear that I am not saying that we can think into existence anything that we want. That view of the power of thoughts is a form of humanism, which is an ungodly philosophy. But, simply recognizing the fact that thoughts are powerful is not humanistic at all. In fact, its quite biblical, and you will see that throughout this book.

Our minds must go through a process of renewal in order to experience Gods plan for us. His thoughts are above our thoughts (see Isaiah 55:8, 9), so in order to walk with Him and experience His good plans for our lives, we must learn to think as He thinks (see Romans 12:2). It is impossible to change our lives unless and until we change our thoughts. When people say they are miserable or frustrated, I say that a stinking life can be the result of stinking thinking. Most of the time, these people dont realize they have the ability to make choices concerning their thoughts and that doing so will make a difference in their lives.