“Look! Look right now!”  

To be honest with you, I didn’t want to look.  The nurse had just been in and told my wife we had plenty of time and her doctor was on his way.  But my wife was adamant the baby was coming. I fearfully lifted the thin gown and looked. My mind’s eye has been scarred for life.  The baby was coming. I saw his head. I ran out of that room like my butt was on fire screaming for a doctor, a nurse. Heck, I would have settled for the janitor as long as I didn’t have to deliver that baby.  The head was nearly out!

We come into the world, headfirst and we learn from this that the direction of our life is determined by what’s in our head.  When I was younger, my dad would wrestle together and he would always say, “Where the head goes, the body will follow.” But this is true mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. Our steps are determined by our thoughts and how we think.  The Bible says that we must be transformed and the first step is not changing our behavior, but changing the way we think and what we allow to take up space in our head (Romans 12:2). It’s all in our head.

Where the head goes, the body follows…

Usually, when someone uses this phrase, they are trying to tell us that what we are thinking is not necessarily true.  But I want to use this phrase to remind you that your thoughts are the key to everything. Thoughts determine what we feel about a certain situation.  The Bible joins together the mind and heart so often because our thoughts and emotions are so directly connected. The Proverbs reminds us that if we don’t do anything else, we must guard our hearts because out of our hearts, our life is determined (Proverbs 4:23).  So, when you begin to think about what your life will be, it’s all in your head!

Philippians 4:8

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. (NIV)

Because our thoughts determine what we feel in our hearts and out of our heart, our mouth speaks (Luke 6:45)  and our heart flows (Proverbs 4:23), what we allow in our head is of the utmost importance. What’s in your head?  

Guard your heart…

The Apostle Paul commands us to only allow in our head things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.  I love that idea. I’m just not sure how to do it all the time. There are so many negative issues in life that must be dealt with. I am a counselor and I have to deal with, talk through, and cry with people who have been through sexual abuse, rape, betrayal, divorce, adoption, and death.  These things do not feel praiseworthy at all.  

These things must be dealt with.  They have to be talked through, but at the same time, we must think as Paul instructs us to think and doing both of these at the same time is the key.  When we are having to deal with the ugliness of life, but still want to keep our head filled only with those things that are praiseworthy, it requires for us to reframe what has happened.  Reframing is a counseling term and technique. It is the skill of finding a new paradigm to frame an episode of life.  

I was counseling with a person once and they felt like a total failure.  All they could see was how much anxiety they were experiencing and how this anxiety was affecting their job, their marriage, their children, and their peace.  So much of the anxiety they were feeling came from thoughts that they would never be successful at anything in life. They had been made to feel inferior in everything since childhood.  (Just a note to parents-your words to your children really do matter!) I explained that so many people who had experienced what they had experienced would not be where this person was.  Most would have broken relationships with their spouse, their children. They would have addictive behaviors such as alcoholism, drugs, sex, pornography. But this person, though struggling and wanting to get better, was doing so good for all they had been through.  

Tears began to run down her face…

As I explained this, tears began to rush down their face.  No one had ever told them that they had done well at anything.  I explained that even though, she had felt all alone most of her childhood and early adulthood, her little prayers had been heard by God and He had helped her to not fall into the same traps.  He had been with her all the time. She was never alone. Reframing her life was key to her healing. It’s all in your head. It is how you understand, perceive, and process a situation that is key. And when everything is negative, finding the truth of God and reframing the moment according to His truth allows you to process horrible moments while still filling your mind with only what is praiseworthy.

My question to you today is what’s in your head?  Are there moments in your life, painful moments, horrific moments, that need to be reframed in God’s truth, from God’s perspective?  If so, take a moment and consider how God saw your situation, how you think He felt seeing His beloved child experience that nightmare, what people and opportunities has He given you to help you overcome the tragedy, and what reasons do you have to praise Him even at that moment?  This is reframing. Start holding on to the truth and let God set you free!

Break free from the strongholds in your life!

If you want to go deeper with emotional healing, please get my FREE ebook called “Breaking Free From Your Past.”  I go into much more detail in this book to help people dealing with depression, anger, loneliness, addictions, and more.  All of these are born in our worst moments of pain but there is hope.  The Bible gives us clear instructions on how to receive God’s healing and overcome all of that.

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Live Blessed and Be a Blessing!