For As He Thinketh In His Heart, So Is He

 This post is by Tami Rodriguez.

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5b) 

Sometimes I forget how applicable and powerful God’s Word truly is. 

One of the places this has been very evident in my life lately is with my mindset. Let me give you a few examples. I shared with a friend about a struggle one of my children was having. She asked me outright, “Do you believe they can handle it?” and my response was…”No!” She then followed up, asking if that was true…that they really couldn’t handle it. When I really stopped to think about it, no that was NOT true. They were 100% able to handle this problem! And if I trust God to work in their life the way I know He will, why was I trying to control and micromanage all of the circumstances and possibilities? 

Why? Because I knew some of the consequences would fall on me. Our choices and decisions always affect other people, and as moms that seems to be even more true between us and our kids no matter what their age! But, when this friend challenged my mindset, I could instantly feel a change in my heart. Suddenly I felt strong for them and for me! Instead of cringing at the thought of this issue, I stood a little taller and thought, you know what? This kid CAN totally handle this!! And if God allows it, He will lead and guide and care for them as He always has. 

Nothing had changed except my mindset- from fearful potential victim to confident potential victor! This happened to me last fall as well. Our family had been hit with one unfortunate incident after another. One was a pretty nasty injury to my daughter’s hand. She’s a butcher…I’ll leave it to your imagination. I was driving her to the hospital for a follow up, and I knew I would see this full injury for the first time and I don’t handle blood and disfigurement well. I was feeling especially depleted and the closer to the hospital we got, the more panicked I felt. I could feel my heart start to quicken, my stomach start to turn and my mind start racing. I kept thinking I can’t handle this!

As I voiced some of this to my daughter, I could immediately see how it affected her and changed her level of fear and anxiety—not in a good way! Seeing that power (that I had used very poorly) I just suddenly decided NO! This is not the woman I’m going to be! I’m not going to be the gagging turning away mom, but the strong “we can handle this” mom. I would be strong for my daughter and myself. 

I kid you not, as soon as I thought that in my head and envisioned myself not turning away but pulling in and supporting my daughter, my physical symptoms literally stopped! So much so I turned to my daughter and said, “Well that was weird!” and explained what just happened. I encouraged her to do the same— change the script in her head and envision it playing out differently. I assure you, it was still gross! But any time I wanted to cringe or back away I thought again of who I wanted to be and how I wanted to handle this situation. I prayed, asking God to give me strength to do and be exactly what I was envisioning and I felt this power and ability that I know was above and outside of myself. 

Guys! He IS faithful! His Word IS true! He really did leave us a helper! He really will provide all we need. He left us guidance and wisdom in His Word and when we apply it…SURPRISE! It works!! Where can you challenge your thoughts and mindset today? Ask the Lord to strengthen and guide you. Be prepared to feel His power change you in incredible ways. 

Tami Rodriguez has been married to her high school sweetheart for 31 years and has 5 children, two lovely daughters in law and a new granddaughter! She has homeschooled for 22 years and still has 3 more to go...send coffee! Tami is a lifelong learner who loves to study God’s Word and share with others whenever given the opportunity.  You can find her living life as “just a mom who likes to write” over on instagram @rodfamily007.

Photo by Rob Coates on Unsplash