The power of your thought life
shingi munyeza

Pastor Shingi Munyeza

Rev Sarah Nyathi Open Heavens
PROVERBS 23:7b: “. . . For as he thinketh, so is he”.
Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any praise, think on these things.”Romans12:2, Do not copy the behaviour and the wisdom of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing in His sight.

The mind is a very powerful organ that God has given us. It is the engine room of your life. The current state of your life whether successful or not started off as a fleeting thought in your mind. There are many fleeting thoughts that come into our minds, some contribute positively others negatively. What counts is how we learn to sieve through productive or destructive thoughts.

I read a little booklet written by an accomplished man of God whom I respect greatly and this was his definition of the word “think”.

Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo states that to think “is to discern, to estimate, and to deliberate on what to do”. The Hebrew word for to think is “to chew on it, to mutter to yourself. It is recalling things in order to reminisce them”. In his little “Thinking” booklet he further states “we are all invited to think because we are rarely influenced by things around us, but mostly the thoughts inside us”. He goes on to say “your thought life is the engine room where the whole of your life is engineered and fabricated”

It therefore follows that the thoughts that we think and what we spend our time meditating on is extremely important. Many of the world’s inventors and successful people won the battle of the mind and created the right mindset. Creating the right mindset is essential to success in life.

An example that comes to mind readily would be Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who introduced the world to air travel. Prior to the Wrights no one had travelled by air and the idea of building a flying machine seemed ludicrous at best. This idea must have started off as a” thought” in one of the brother’s minds. These men exhibited amazing creativity as neither of them was an engineer. Being bicycle mechanics they chose to harness the power of the mind and understood the importance of thinking outside the box. They continued to meditate on this crazy trend of thought despite being mocked and scorned.

Through their ability to think outside the box and use the power of thoughts creatively one day in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA their invention, the first crude air craft lifted off the ground flew briefly in the air promptly falling again. They never gave up, and because they persisted in this way of thinking we now enjoy modern air travel, jetting to various destinations the world over.

Several years ago I was fascinated to read a newspaper article about a war veteran named Barnabas Sibanda from Esigodini who entertained the “crazy idea” of building our first “Zimcopter”. In the same way that Orville and Wilbur Right were scorned, many laughed at the idea, labelling it madness. Yet I often wonder what the outcome might have been had more attention been paid to this “thought”. Had engineers and experts rallied behind him to refine his ideas, could we have indeed have designed our first “Zimcopter”? Here was a man who dared to use his mind and think out of the box. How I wish he had persisted and not given up.

Pastor Ashimolowo makes several assertions which I list hereunder for us to “think on”. He states: “Where there is limited progress in thinking superstition abounds”.

“Weak minds are like microscopes, they magnify small things and cannot perceive great ones. They do not have the capacity to receive and be taught new things”.

We need to increase our capacity to receive and be taught new things by renewing our minds. The Bible talks about renewing our minds in Rom 12:2.

We need to change from narrow thinking by exposing ourselves to new information, skills, ideas and people. Pastor Shingi Munyeza stated that “exposure brings revelation, and revelation brings transformation”. I would like to add that statement and say that “transformation births progress”.

But this process starts as we change the way we think. I encourage everyone who reads this article to do something you have never done before, learn a new skill, travel some place you’ve never been to before, do things differently, meet new people outside your immediate circle of friends. You will be amazed how such exposure can result in changed thinking, transformation and progress in your life.

My husband and I, including a group of persons from the church that we pastor decided to do something we had never done before. We went on a Mediterranean Shipping Company cruise from Cape Town to Walvis Bay. I was amazed at how such an insignificant experience can produce significant changes in the mind. It lasted four days only, but what a wealth of learning and mind transformation took place. I am very observant, with an enquiring, inquisitive mind. I learned so much and the “exposure of this new experience brought much revelation and transformation” to my mind. I was blown away by the efficiency, excellence, order and panache with which they checked in 2,200 guests into a 12 deck vessel, fed, entertained and expertly pandered to all our whims and wishes. There were no inordinate delays or queues at meal times in restaurants, rooms were serviced in time and everything was well synchronised. When I examined the way I had been doing things in my own little world I realised that there is room for much improvement. My mind had been transformed.

I will outline briefly the process of transformed thinking. Transformed thinking starts off as you perceive things in your mind’s eye, envision what you desire or the circumstances you wish to change in our life. The Bible says “without a vision” the people perish. Ask yourself a few questions, what do you want to see happening in your life, what direction are you taking? Are you happy and satisfied with who and what you are?

Meditate on your desires. Think on the positive outcomes you are expecting for your life. In this regard I would encourage you to create a vision board, whether it be a screen saver on your computer, smart phone or a simple manila chart on your wall. Paste images of the things that you want to think and meditate on which you wish to see manifested in your future.

Several years ago I created a simple manila sheet vision board which I pasted on my office wall. I would look at it daily and pray over the desires of my heart. I am pleased to testify (or report) that almost all the things I chose to meditate and think on have come to pass. I encourage you to change the way you think and start thinking positively rather than negatively about your life and circumstances.

Prepare for what you are envisioning and meditating on. Make holistic preparations, take action to qualify yourself for the manifestation of your progress and good fortune. This can be done through intellectual preparation which entails further studies, mentoring, reading, and talking to accomplished individuals. Physical preparation should also part of the game plan, improve your etiquette, understand different protocols (depending on where you envision yourself to be in the next few years), also take good physical care of yourself (good nutrition and exercise). Remember, you only have one body and you need to keep it in good shape.

Above all, read and study the word of God as this will build your faith. In this article I am not only advocating for positive thinking but rather for us to build and increase our faith in God.

It must be noted that changing from what I refer to as “stinking thinking” which is negative and will not produce the success that you need in your life is a process. A process takes time. Please note that from the perception phase to the manifestation phase there is a time of preparation. A dear friend of mine would always point out that “preparation time is never wasted time”. Remember you are qualifying yourself for the opportunities that will present themselves to you in future.

Do I discount miracles? Absolutely not. God can do miracles and your circumstances can be transformed overnight. He only needs to speak a word. The greater part of the time however, I find that God allows His children to understand and practice the principles found in His word (the Bible). One of those principles is the ability to possess the mind of Christ, and remembering at all times that” as we think, so we become”. Someone aptly described the importance of a positive mind set and thoughts by saying “thoughts become things”.

That is why it is important to have a renewed mind, full of the Word of God that will take you to your God given destiny. Remember “thoughts become things, as a man thinketh so is he”.

 

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