Non-Stinking Thinking

Anyone in a 12 Step program will recognize this title and immediately understand where they think I am going, but that is not the case. For sure we do not stop thinking badly in our addictive and early recovery state, but it does improve if we work the Steps and have a sponsor/mentor to run things by. But there is something else.

The real Non-Stinking Thinking though comes when we begin to think as God thinks. We certainly can't comprehend his thoughts but we can understand the basic concept for making good decisions through his instruction manual, which really hones in on the secret from Jesus teachings.  And good decisions are the result of planting the right thoughts in our mind, especially when the bad ones show up. Easier said than done? 

In his devotional for March 8, My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers nails it for me. Here are a couple excerpts and my comments:

To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but to surrender his whole way of looking at things. Being born again by the Spirit of God means that we must first be willing to let go before we can grasp something else.

Our whole way of thinking as a dysfunctional individual involves usually pride, selfishness and greed unless we were trained otherwise, which means we may actually know what good thoughts are, we just fail to turn that into positive action. That was my case, my Mom taught me well, I just didn't listen, until now. So now, over 33 years of recovery I am thinking much better, doing better things but they are not always right, because I am still a flawed human being. But they are a whole lot better.

To grasp something else, I have to constantly stay in touch with God to immediately change the picture in my mind so I can go from bad to good 
thoughts. In the Steps, Step 11 says we must improve our conscious contact with God, therefore we see his nature up close and personal and then the choice is up to us - our thoughts, his thoughts, which side are we now on?

If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to him. And God will then equip you to do all what he requires of you.

Spectacular thoughts by him, and an amazing twist. It's not just about us getting through bad times or stinking thinking, it's about what God can do with us as a result of a victory he gives us in that moment of triumph. As we think of the consequences of our actions, we need to think, how will this affect the future of those who are affected by what I do, and then what effect of what I do will reflect the image of God and those who will hear my story?

That's called Non-Stinking Thinking!