[Thursday's Devotional] - Thoughts

Isn't it marvellous when you are trying to concentrate on something, a project, a letter, or almost anything, and suddenly your mind starts thinking about some other, totally different subject. Perhaps it is triggered off by a memory or something seen or heard at that time. Several minutes later you are wondering what on earth you are thinking about when you should be concentrating on the job in hand. You have to stop, pull yourself together and try to start again on that which you were doing. It can be infuriating, can't it? You have to read what you have written to see where you had got to and then try to think where this was leading. I've just been distracted by the children playing at the nursery next door, so that's what I'm having to do now!

Another side to this is when you see something in passing and thoughts spring into your mind from nowhere. I nearly said it's as though your brain had a mind of its own! It can happen almost anytime. Suddenly you are thinking "Look at the state of that" or "By gum, she's a cracker!" or "He could do with a good slap", or "What on earth are they trying to do with that?", or some other random comment and your thoughts go wandering off again. Of course we all correct ourselves when some of these thoughts come along and we try to ignore them.

But how do you control these random, sometimes harsh or rude thoughts? The answer is you probably can't, but you can put them in their place and bring a more pleasant and correct thought into mind. And you can place them in God's hands.

So trust in the Lord to help you deal with any 'uncontrollable' or wrong thoughts. Bring them to him and let him put your mind at rest. After all, He knows your thoughts almost before you do and has dealt with them already.

Jim Finch