A few weeks ago, I was traveling home in my car late at night. I had the stereo tuned to my favorite talk radio station. And as I drove, my mind wondered between the events of the day and the political debate on the radio. I came to a complete stop at a red light (I know it's hard to believe), then proceeded to drive through the intersection with the light still red by accident, treating it as a stop sign.
Almost all of you have done that, don't lie! But it bothered me that I could be so distracted. Two weeks ago I heard a former drivers ed. instructor ask if anyone had done exactly what I explained. He said he knew why, so I listened in. He explained that since we were sixteen years old, the traffic light has been referred to as a stop light. And when it's red, we sometimes stop, look both ways, and proceed.
He said that if we thought about the light as a traffic light we would never run it. Because the trigger would be stop, WAIT FOR A GREEN LIGHT, then proceed. He suggested that simple adjustment in thinking would cause us to stop and wait for the green.
Proverbs tells us that "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pro. 23:7 NKJV). It's amazing how our patterns of thinking effect our lives, even in the small situations such as traffic lights. This passage is saying we can control, to a certain extent, our lives by learning to direct our thoughts.
That's why Scripture admonishes us to direct our thoughts to "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" (Phil. 4:8 NIV). So, what have you been thinking about today?
Almost all of you have done that, don't lie! But it bothered me that I could be so distracted. Two weeks ago I heard a former drivers ed. instructor ask if anyone had done exactly what I explained. He said he knew why, so I listened in. He explained that since we were sixteen years old, the traffic light has been referred to as a stop light. And when it's red, we sometimes stop, look both ways, and proceed.
He said that if we thought about the light as a traffic light we would never run it. Because the trigger would be stop, WAIT FOR A GREEN LIGHT, then proceed. He suggested that simple adjustment in thinking would cause us to stop and wait for the green.
Proverbs tells us that "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he" (Pro. 23:7 NKJV). It's amazing how our patterns of thinking effect our lives, even in the small situations such as traffic lights. This passage is saying we can control, to a certain extent, our lives by learning to direct our thoughts.
That's why Scripture admonishes us to direct our thoughts to "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" (Phil. 4:8 NIV). So, what have you been thinking about today?
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