Section 14—Thoughts and Their Influences
Chapter 72—Thought Habits (Part 3)
Counsel to a Young Woman Regarding the Dangers of Castle-building—You should control your thoughts. This will not be an easy task; you cannot accomplish it without close and even severe effort. Yet God requires this of you; it is a duty resting upon every accountable being. You are responsible to God for your thoughts. If you indulge in vain imaginations, permitting your mind to dwell upon impure subjects, you are, in a degree, as guilty before God as if your thoughts were carried into action. All that prevents the action is the lack of opportunity.
Day and night dreaming and castle-building are bad and exceedingly dangerous habits. When once established, it is next to impossible to break up such habits and direct the thoughts to pure, holy, elevated themes. You will have to become a faithful sentinel over your eyes, ears, and all your senses if you would control your mind and prevent vain and corrupt thoughts from staining your soul. The power of grace alone can accomplish this most desirable work. You are weak in this direction.—Testimonies for the Church 2:561 (1870).
Crowd Out the Evil With Good—Parents can choose, if they will, whether or not their children’s minds shall be filled with pure and holy thoughts and sentiments, but their tastes must be disciplined and educated with the greatest care. They must commence early to unfold the Scriptures before the expanding minds of their children that proper habits and tastes may be formed…. The elements of evil cannot be exterminated except by the introduction of food for pure, solid thought.—The Review and Herald, November 9, 1886. (Our High Calling, 202.)
Avoid Negative Thinking—As we are not our own, as we are bought with a price, it is the duty of everyone who professes to be a Christian to keep his thoughts under the control of reason and oblige himself to be cheerful and happy. However bitter may be the cause of his grief, he should cultivate a spirit of rest and quietude in God. The restfulness which is in Christ Jesus, the peace of Christ, how precious, how healing its influence, how soothing to the oppressed soul! However dark his prospects, let him cherish a spirit to hope for good. While nothing is gained by despondency, much is lost. While cheerfulness and a calm resignation and peace will make others happy and healthy, it will be of the greatest benefit to oneself. Sadness and talking of disagreeable things is encouraging the disagreeable scenes, bringing back upon oneself the disagreeable effect. God wants us to forget all these—not look down but up, up!—Letter 1, 1883.
Peril of Dwelling on Earthly Things—If your thoughts, your plans, your purposes, are all directed toward the accumulation of the things of earth, your anxiety, your study, your interests, will all be centered upon the world. The heavenly attractions will lose their beauty…. Your heart will be with your treasure…. You will have no time to devote to the study of the Scriptures and to earnest prayer that you may escape the snares of Satan.—The Review and Herald, September 1, 1910. (Our High Calling, 200.)
Changing the Thought Pattern—When the mind has been long permitted to dwell only on earthly things, it is a difficult matter to change the habits of thought. That which the eye sees and the ear hears too often attracts the attention and absorbs the interest. But if we would enter the city of God and look upon Jesus and His glory, we must become accustomed to beholding Him with the eye of faith here. The words and the character of Christ should be often the subject of our thoughts and of our conversation, and each day some time should be especially devoted to prayerful meditation upon these sacred themes.—The Review and Herald, May 3, 1881. (The Sanctified Life, 91, 92.)
A Higher Grade of Thought—Man has revolted from God and has ever since endeavored to make his scheme of doing as he pleased a success in securing happiness. But whenever he has sought to fill his mind with any other object than God, he has been disappointed. There must be an altogether higher grade of thought, an altogether higher class of studies, and higher objects for you to seek to obtain than you have had in the past. The disorders and imperfections of human words and human characters can be restored only by the Lord Jesus Christ. He, then, should be the object of your contemplation, the theme of your conversation. You must have an altogether higher exercise of thought and action if you would understand the great plan of redemption.—Manuscript 13, 1897.
Law of Thoughts and Feelings—It is a law of nature that our thoughts and feelings are encouraged and strengthened as we give them utterance. While words express thoughts, it is also true that thoughts follow words.—The Ministry of Healing, 251, 252 (1905).
Toward Completeness of Character—A Christian life will be revealed by Christian thoughts, Christian words, and Christian deportment. In Christ there is a divine completeness of character.—Letter 13a, 1879. (Our High Calling, 184.)
A New Endowment of Power—Those who consecrate soul, body, and spirit to God, purifying their thoughts by obedience to the law of God, will continually receive a new endowment of physical and mental power. There will be heart yearnings after God and earnest prayer for clear perception to discern the office and work of the Holy Spirit. It is not for us to use it, but for the Holy Spirit to use us, molding, fashioning every power.—Testimonies on Sabbath-School Work, 106. (Counsels on Sabbath School Work, 40.)
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/78.1469#1503
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for blessing us to understand that true happiness is in being at peace with You and dwelling in obedience to Your will as expressed in Your Word. Thank You that we can count on all heaven uniting with us in gaining true happiness. Thank You for the privilege to see and reflect the character of Jesus and to work as He did when He lived on earth. Please work within us to manifest the sweet love of Jesus, who Himself manifests a holy consistency without obstinacy, benevolence without weakness, and tenderness and sympathy without sentimentalism.
Please bless us to rest in the power of Your love. Please bless us to steadfastly and lovingly share the gospel so that it inspires cheerful obedience and gladden the lives of others, thereby producing health in ourselves. Please grant to us that strength of abiding faith, which produces good works of service and continual contentment. Bless us with a submissive heart to Your Holy Spirit that we might love and be merciful and compassionate toward others, according to Your divine purposes.
Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, please bless us to lay hold on eternity and in this world be exactly all You would have us be. Please grant to us the mind and love and faith of Jesus that others might be drawn to You eternally through how we live and what we say, especially in the most trying of circumstances. Because we ask all these in the Awesome name of Your Son, Almighty Jesus the Christ, our Savior, we say Thank You and Amen.
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Believe GOD…
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.—Philippians 4:8 KJV
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