Predicting your future
You can always find what you’re looking for. Whether it’s finding the “good” in someone, or the “bad” in a certain situation. We are all seeking, and we are all finding. Living intentionally about what you are seeking after and what you’re thinking about changes atmospheres, relationships, and your future.
Have you ever woken up stressed or overwhelmed? It’s like a set-up for disaster. It feels like the day goes downhill as you attempt to navigate relationships, time, and schedule. Little things turn into big things, anxiety quickly turns into despair and before you know it you decide: This is a bad day. Once you’ve made that decision, your day is spent gathering evidence to prove what you believe is right.
Can you imagine the opposite decision? You wake up stressed or overwhelmed, and you immediately notice and decide. “My feelings are real, and even validated. However, I can choose right now to agree with God’s best for me and my day. I am going to imagine the best-case scenario instead of the worst. I am going to decide that this is a good day because God has given me this day as a gift on this earth. Yes, I have concerns, but I am going to partner with God and we are going to proceed into this day together. I trust Him to give me wisdom and help carry my load. Solutions are available to me and I can have joy in the journey!
As you move forward, this doesn’t mean you ignore everything negative; it must be acknowledged, and often even confronted. But your search for a treasure within your situation will lead you to resolve and get you on the fast-track to a new beginning. Your decisions are extremely powerful. Like the rudder that turns a gigantic and heavy ship, one decision can pivot your day if you simply choose to ask...seek...and knock. Allow hope (your joyful anticipation) to draw you into God’s preferred future for your life.
The average person makes 35,000 decisions each day. Consider making a monumental choice right now to see the best in your family members. The quickest way to switch your heart beliefs about someone is to be thankful for something...anything...just dwell on that thought and decide that this is the treasure you are seeking.
It’s easy to see the wrong in someone, especially if we have been offended or hurt. It’s also easy to see character flaws and mistakes in those around us. Jesus said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3-5). This isn’t a call to self-judgment as much as it’s an invitation to be humble and willing to lay down our “right to be right” and simply choose love.
Are you willing to change your mind about someone? About a certain situation? Our friend, Dr. Jim Richards says, “I can predict your future. Just tell me your prominent thoughts throughout the day.” Like water that nourishes a seed that grows into a tree, your thoughts, focus, and attention are shaping and creating your next days, months, and years. The first law of the seed is that every seed bears after its own kind, which means you will keep getting the same life and relationships if you keep planting and watering the same seeds. This can be good or bad, but it introduces a level of personal responsibility. The law of the seed shows us it is impossible to receive what we do not give. Our heart is the soil, the seed is the information (true or false) that becomes a belief.
A great way to love our spouse, parents, children, and friends is to dwell on what we love most about them. Seek out and find treasures of happy memories and special moments. Imagine how fast your perspective changes when you decide to accept the ones around you with extravagant love and mercy.
Hear more about this topic on Episode 77 of All About Relationships Podcast with Bob and Audrey