positive.

“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.”
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), clergyman and author

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. Full of fun and worthwhile events and activities, yes, but tiring nonetheless. As a result of this and other factors, I'm sorry to say, my normally positive outlook has slipped a little. In recent days, however, God has been bringing my attention back to the fact that a positive attitude is not only a nice thing to have, it is also Biblical. The devil has been fighting me, bringing back battles I thought I had won long ago. And while it's easy for me to wonder why these struggles are necessary, I am brought back to the fact again and again that God is faithful. He is faithful to teach me and to help me grow. He is faithful to bring beauty from the ashes, and to breathe life into what was once lifeless. And one of my responsibilities as a child of God is to have a positive mindset. I've been reading a devotional book that's based on Joyce Meyer's Battlefield of the Mind and here is what she has to say about Matthew 8:13 ("Jesus said, Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.")

"Here's a simple fact I've learned: Positive minds produce positive lives, but negative minds produce negative lives. The New Testament tells the story of a Roman soldier whose servant was sick, and the soldier wanted Jesus to heal him. That wasn't uncommon -- many wanted Jesus to heal them or their loved ones in those days. But this soldier, instead of asking Jesus to come to his servant, expressed his belief that if Jesus would just speak the word, his servant would be healed. Jesus marveled at his faith and sent out His word to heal the servant. The soldier's positive mindset -- his faith -- brought positive results. He expected healing, and that's exactly what happened."

While I don't believe that "positive thoughts" heal people or make life better, I do believe that if we expected God to do what we ask Him to do, we might be surprised at the results! How often do we pray for something, and then God "surprises" us by answering? I think if I expected more -- had more faith -- I might receive more!

I am going to be challenging myself in the coming days and weeks to think more positively as a believer. To be more expectant of the grace and mercies of God. To be more filled with confidence in His abilities and power to work in my life. Those are things I believe He expects of me.

The glass is definitely half-full!