Change the way you think

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1 NIV

If you are a football fan you know who Nick Saban is. The University of Alabama Head Coach is arguably the best to ever do it. I am not suggesting you become a fan of that school, but I heard him at a press conference a couple of years ago and it has stuck with me. They lose one or two games per year like it is normal and it is for them. But he was speaking at a press conference about an upcoming game against a team that had defeated Alabama the prior season. He said, “They think they can beat us now. We’re going to have to change the way they think.”

He was not focused on any particular aspect of offense or defense. His point of emphasis was on the belief system of an opponent that had been defeated every year for quite some time. They won one game and his point of emphasis was re-training the other teams mind to losing.

I’ve been trying to re-train my own mind to capture useless or negative thoughts and this quote keeps coming back. I tend to think nervous thoughts or negative thoughts just out of habit at times. I also think a lot of useless thoughts that are not negative, but they fill up head space that I could purposely be filling with thought that I direct or even letting my old brain take a break. It's like I am sending myself mental junk mail.

I am trying to change the way I think. Progress is slow but the effort is worth it. As a coach he did not want the other team to think victory was possible. In fact, he wanted them to assume the loss before practice started the week leading up to the game. Satan wants me to think just like that.

Jesus is an undefeated Savior. If you call Him Savior, He calls you saved, and no one can take you from Him. I think even the devil himself knows that, so if he cannot take me, he can trick me into thinking about losing. He can trick you into thinking failure on any topic and some things do fail, but from an eternal perspective Jesus has never lost one soul. He will not start with yours or mine.

One of my best friends talks about asking yourself “What is the best-case scenario?” If I am worried about anything I am like most people, I will let the worst-case scenario play out in my mind without ever contrasting it with the best case possible. Usually neither worst case nor best case actually happens. But if I let my enemy snatch defeat from the jaws of an eternally glorious victory, I am helping the wrong team.

What is your most common self-defeating thought?

What is your most common victorious thought?

Challenge: Balancing how much you think about yourself in the first place. But always put Jesus in your thoughts of the future.

Rick Claiborn