It’s only 21 days into the new year and the old is trying to creep into my new. I wake up on the “right side” of the bed and start the day with great momentum, ready to win. When something suddenly changes and joy starts to slip with worry lurking at the door, I realize that I have allowed a suffocating influence into my space – It’s time for cleansing.
You and I control the gates of our lives and corrupting influences: joy-sucking people, memories, negative thought patterns, etc. need to be permanently locked out.
Keep a tight control on the access points to your life. Be more careful about what you allow into your life. Keep your gates closed to distraction and anything that will not add value to your life. This is a new year and you need strength to accomplish greatness. Every sabotaging influence needs to go.
Everywhere you turn there will be something trying to get your attention and influence your thinking. Whatever wins this struggle for attention gains access to your heart, and whatever makes it into your heart will affect your life in one way or the other. Do yourself a favor: screen every source of input and only let the good things in your heart.
Your eyes and ears are the two major gates into your heart that need to be guarded. Guard your eye gate jealously (what are you looking at?); guard your ear gate fastidiously (what are you listening to?). The words that come out of your mouth can provide an indication of the state of your heart. Listen to your words and pay attention to the direction of your life. If you expose yourself to the wrong thing, it will govern your thinking and that would govern how you live. Whether you realize it or not, your life is moving in the direction of what gets into your heart.
It’s a new day – declutter your mind and clean out the negative influences and be free.
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.
Philippians 4:8
Share your thoughts – how do you let the good in and keep the bad out?
Living guarded,
Ibidun
