Let The Truth Guide Our Every Thought

Our thoughts can be very powerful. Whatever we believe, we easily become. Have you heard of the term “self-fulfilling prophecy”? This basically means when men first have their own judgement towards things before seeking the Lord’s conviction, regardless of what may be right or wrong in truth. And when men continue doing so according to their own standards, this judgment will gradually be fulfilled. Our thoughts actually trigger our emotions, thus affecting our words, actions, decisions and responses that follows. Thus, we need to be aware of the effects of being guided by our own judgment over the Lord’s.

The wrong thoughts and beliefs brings about harm.

The consequences of “Self Fulfilling Prophecy”

Our fallen nature tend to lean onto the negative and distorted thoughts. If we are not intentional in guarding our hearts and minds, we will easily be manipulated by our thinking and it may even become our greatest enemy. We have to be especially careful not to go into “self fulfilling prophecies”. Sometimes, when we keep holding onto certain false or baseless thoughts, this might lead to us entering certain vicious cycle. For example, if a person internalises the thought that he is disliked, feeling that no matter what he does, no one will like him, he will eventually talk and act in ways that are awkward, defensive and unfriendly. This is because, they may feel that people around them will not like them anyway and because they act this way, it will really lead to them being unlikeable to others. Or there may be people who are afraid of failures, thus they feel listless or hopeless when they do their task. As they continue to do so, their attitude and crippling fears will end up fulfilling their predetermined outcome. A self-fulfilling prophecy can manifest in many ways depending on our own nature and weaknesses. It will control our entire attitude and response, even causing interpersonal issues or bigger problems that follow after. Also, when we repeatedly dwell in these negative thoughts, it will lead to bigger harm and destruction such as more anxiety, assumptions, distrust, strengthless to move on in life or to love others.

Why do men have the inclination to develop wrong thoughts or self-fulfilling prophecies?

Actually, all the thoughts that manipulate us stem from our disbelief in God. When we cannot fully trust in God’s perfect will and faithful leading, we will develop all these warped ideas and assumptions. Even for believers, we can easily fall into the pits of having “self-fulfilling prophecies”. We tend to second guess and come up with our own kind of strategies or analysis of the many things around us because we do not believe that God meant it when He said “all things work for the good of those He loves.” We doubt that. We prefer to think out various scenarios or assume the bad outcomes as our first response. And because of that, because of our disbelief, lack of trust and the heart of submission to the Lord, we may truly end up with the bad outcome we anticipated. In all honesty, it can be prevented. We can use the truth of the gospel to manage our thoughts and responses.

Maintaining A Blessed Thinking System

My dear brethren, we need to believe in the right thing and source so that we will not be easily manipulated in our minds. As children of God, we should, all the more, let the word of God take sovereignty over our thoughts, rather than the “self fulfilling prophecies” that tempt to cripple our faith. Here, the Lord tell us many truths in the Bible. In Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” And in 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” In Philippians 4:8, it says “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” And finally, Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Therefore, let us not be limited by our own wit or judgement. The key difference between self fulfilling prophecies and confirming God’s promises is the reliability of its source. The former relies on men’s ability, while the latter relies on the Lord’s steadfast word and abundant wisdom. If we really think and confirm things through the word of God, we will also start to see many evidences of His works amidst the situation or issue. And more than that, we many receive an outcome that is beyond our understanding. For example, we may be on the verge of giving up, thinking we may never triumph our weakness or do not deserve to be loved. But if we keep on clinging onto God’s word despite all these insinuations and despair, we may start to see changes in ourselves or even in others or our situations. It could even be like us anticipating God’s work in someone else, continually interceding for them regardless of their response and attitude, and in the end, God may start healing them or you could see some sort of transformation in their lives.

Of course, there could be instances that “self fulfilling prophecies” may lead to a good outcome, like having positive hopes, believing in your own abilities, and when some people follow these thoughts, it may lead to some form of successes. However, if the foundation of all that is not based on God’s will and word, we must know that all these good outcomes may happen but will not sustain for long, or they could lead men further and further away from God’s salvation, leading to an ultimately dreadful ending.

Brothers and sisters, many people do not realise that they fail because they let their own thoughts and judgment mange their lives for them, leading to undesirable ends. But for those of us who are loved by God and love God, we should let His perfect word lead our every thought. When our thinking system is being shaped by the truth of the gospel, what we do will bear blessed fruits, and our spirits will truly be guarded. May the Lord’s word fill our hearts and minds every day.