Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. 

Proverbs  4:23

God gave me free will. I choose what goes into my heart.  I can fill it with negative thoughts and wallow in negative emotions – I can catalog my pain and my symptoms and relive past hurts from others or I can fill it with positive thoughts – I can fill it with God’s word and His promises, I can choose to forgive those that have hurt me, I can choose to dwell on loving others instead of protecting myself.  It’s my choice.

Joseph Prince says thoughts that come to our mind are like birds flying over our head; we can’t stop them from flying over our heads but we can stop them from building a nest there.

What I listen to, meditate on, what I consider and ponder, sinks into my heart and, according to this verse, will determine the course of my life.  Where am I headed?  Where are you headed?

Even in the secular world, people are aware of the power of positive thinking.  Doctors will tell you that meditating on good things will aid in the healing process.  What could be more positive, more healing than God’s word?

If I harbor bitterness, anger, lust, fear, doubt in my heart, what path am I on?  And is it a path of healing?  Can I trust God with these things and allow His healing to flow into me and through me?  By His grace, I can change the course of my life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,

“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

If you are fighting off negativity how about meditated on these verses:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

Father, help me to guard my heart.  Help me to think on what is good and true and healing for myself and others. When I am prone to dwell on negative thoughts, please nudge me back to Your word. Help me to allow Your word and Your will to be what determines the course of my life, in Jesus’ name, amen.

I would love to hear from you. Please let me know if I can be praying for you as well.