Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week (38 page)

“Yes, that’s for me. I am well able. I am more than a conqueror.”

I watched a television documentary about a jungle bat that eats certain small frogs, but not all small frogs. Some of the jungle frogs are poisonous.
They look just like the nonpoisonous frogs. But this bat can tell the difference by the sounds made by the frogs. The bat tunes in to only the sound made by the nontoxic frog.

At night all the frogs make this high-pitched chirping sound, but the poisonous frogs chirp in a slightly higher pitch than the nontoxic frogs. These bats have hearing so keen, they just listen intently for five or ten minutes, and then they tune in.

The documentary showed twenty jungle frogs packed into a little bitty area. Then the jungle bat tuned in and swooped down. For its dinner, the bat picked out the one nonpoisonous frog from the midst of all its poisonous cousins. How could the bat do that? He had trained his ear to tune in to the right frog frequency.

That’s the way to be when selecting which thoughts to tune in. Be so trained in your thought life that you don’t take the enemy’s bait. You tune in to only hopeful, positive, faith-filled thoughts.

When a jealous thought comes saying,
Why do they get everything? They’re so smart? That’s not fair
, recognize that thought is making the wrong sound. It may look good, you may be tempted to dwell on it, but your instincts should tell you that’s a toxic thought.

If a thought comes telling you,
You’re so sloppy. You’re undisciplined. You can’t do anything right
, it may be tempting to get down on yourself, but don’t take that bait. Recognize those are poisonous thoughts. They will keep you from your destiny.

I’m asking you to be extremely aware of what you’re dwelling on. What thoughts are you allowing to take root? Poisonous or nonpoisonous? Helpful or hurtful? Have you trained your ear like little Spirit the dog to have selective hearing? Are you being perceptive like those bats to leave the poisonous thoughts alone?

You control what you think about. The Scripture tells us in Philippians to “fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure,
and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (4:8
NLT
).

You have to program your mind with the right software. If you’ll keep your mind filled with the right thoughts, there won’t be any room for the wrong ones. Purposefully think good things about yourself and your future. It’s not enough to just avoid negative thoughts. If you don’t fill your mind with these faith-filled thoughts, the negative ones will try to take over. It’s much better to stay on the offensive.

The Bible says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You” (Isaiah 26:3
NKJV
). Meditate all through the day on what God says about you:
I’m strong. I’m talented. I’m forgiven. Good things are in store for me. My best days are in front of me.
When your mind is full of positive thoughts, negative thoughts will find a
NO VACANCY
sign when they try to enter. They won’t be able to get in.

That is a powerful way to live. You decide the direction of your life. You decide your moods. You determine your attitudes.

You may need to clean house to rid your mind of all the negative condemning thoughts so you have room for the
can do
thoughts, the
all things are possible
thoughts, the
I am well able
thoughts. There’s not room for both the negative and the positive.

Deuteronomy 30:19 says to choose blessings or choose curses.

When you keep your mind filled with positive thoughts, you choose blessings; you are choosing to live with happiness each day. You choose joy and victory. But when you are passive and accept whatever negative thoughts come to mind, that’s when you miss out on God’s best.

I want you to get in the habit of filling your mind with praise and thanksgiving. I want you to go out expecting good things. When you have setbacks and disappointments, you have to be especially on guard. Instead of complaining and being depressed, just say, “I know God is about to turn this around. It may be difficult, but this, too, shall pass. It’s only temporary.”

Keep that
NO VACANCY
sign up to lock out negative thoughts. Your thoughts control your life. You lock your house because you don’t want strangers coming in. That’s your home. That’s where you live. Have the same attitude with your mind. “This is who I am. This is my future. I’m
not letting just anything come in. I will make sure my thoughts are positive. I’m staying tuned to the Voice of Victory.”

I heard somebody put it this way: If you owned an apartment complex and you rented 80 percent of the apartments to drug dealers and thieves and cheaters, and then you rented the other 20 percent to normal law-abiding citizens, after a few months the drug dealers and cheaters would run off all the normal people. It’s the same way in controlling what lives in your mind. If you dwell constantly on your problems and what you don’t have and how the future looks tough, all those negative thoughts will run off any positive thoughts.

Quit renting space in your mind to your problems. Don’t rent that valuable space to self-pity. Don’t rent it out to
can’t do it
,
not able to
thoughts, or
never going to happen
thoughts. You have only so much space. Take inventory of what’s occupying your mind.

Serve an eviction notice to negative thoughts:
I’m sorry, but your time here is up. Your stay has officially ended. I’ve rented to you long enough, and now I’ve got a new renter coming in. It’s called the Voice of Victory, and it needs all the space that’s available.

We hear a lot about detoxing our bodies and how there are chemicals in our food that can be harmful, certain hormones and bacteria that can build up, even pesticides in the air. Many people don’t realize their bodies are full of harmful toxins and that’s what’s causing them to feel bad. Most experts recommend you go through a deep cleansing where you put yourself on a fast and then eat a certain diet, staying away from things that are harmful. They say over time you’ll rid yourself of those toxins and begin to feel better.

In the same way, there are all kinds of toxins that can build up in your mind. When you dwell on what you can’t do and the hurts you’ve felt and the challenges you face, you are focusing on toxic thoughts that can do as much damage as toxins in your body.

Toxic thoughts build up and become like toxic waste that will eventually contaminate your whole life. They affect your attitude, your self-
esteem, and your confidence. They become part of who you are. That’s why the Scripture says in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (
NIV
). Make guarding your mind a priority, put it at the top of your to-do list. If your mind is polluted, your whole life will be damaged.

You probably know someone who is bitter, cynical, and has a sour attitude. They expect the worst. Why is that? They’ve allowed toxic thoughts to take root. These negative thoughts are poisoning their future.

What’s the solution? They need to go through a detoxification—not a physical cleansing but a mental cleansing. The only way they will be free, the only way they will return to who God made them to be, is to detox the mind.

You may need to detox the bitterness, the low self-esteem, the negative words spoken over you, the condemnation from past mistakes, and the discouragement that’s trying to become a part of you.

How do you detox? You make a decision that you will not dwell on those thoughts anymore. You starve those toxins. Every time you dwell on that negative thought, that condemnation, that bitterness, that low self-esteem, you are feeding it. You’re giving it new life, making it stronger.

Those thoughts come saying,
You will never get well. You heard what the doctor said. You will never be happy. You’ve been hurt too many times. You will never accomplish your dreams.
But instead of dwelling on them, just say, “No, I’m not going there. I’m not dwelling on my hurt, or what I don’t have, or my mistakes. I’m dwelling on what God says about me. He says I’m forgiven. He says He will pay me back double for every wrong. He says I am well able to fulfill my destiny. He says my best days are still in front of me.”

If you ignore toxic thoughts and keep your mind filled with thoughts of hope, thoughts of faith, then those toxic thoughts will grow weaker, and before long they won’t have any effect on you.

I know people who go on fasts so they can detox their systems. They won’t eat for a period of time or they just won’t eat a certain type of food. I have a friend who is trying to be healthier and he won’t eat any kind of meat. He’s not drinking anything but water. He won’t eat after a certain time at
night. I saw him the other day and offered him a soft drink and he didn’t think twice.

“No, that’s not a part of my eating program,” he said.

He was on a strict diet. That’s the way to be when toxic thoughts come to mind, those thoughts of worry, low self-esteem, and
not able to
thoughts. When they arise, just say, “Thanks, but no thanks. That’s not a part of my plan. I don’t dwell on thoughts of fear. I don’t dwell on thoughts of defeat. I don’t dwell on thoughts of inferiority. Toxic thoughts are not a part of my program.”

If you don’t have the joy, the happiness, or the victory, maybe it’s because of an unhealthy diet. Not physically, but mentally. There is too much mental junk food polluting your mind.

I’m just average. I’ve reached my limits. I’ve missed so many good opportunities. I’ve been too hurt to ever really be happy.

Cleanse your mind and put it on a healthier diet. Those toxic thoughts are not a part of your program. I’m asking you today to go on a fast. Not a fast from food (although that probably wouldn’t hurt you), but a fast from negative thinking, a fast from condemnation, a fast from resentment, a fast from
can’t do it
thoughts, a fast from undernourished dreams.

Starve those toxins. Do not give them any power over you. Every morning when you wake up, go through a mental cleansing. Release any bitterness, forgive the people who hurt you, and let go of every disappointment. Start the day in faith. Start the day believing. Don’t let those toxins build up.

When you’re lying in bed in the morning before you get up, just say to yourself, “This will be a great day. I’m expecting God’s favor. I know I’m well able to fulfill my destiny. I’ve been empowered to overcome every obstacle. I have the strength to overlook every offense. I have the grace to rise above every disappointment. Even if things don’t go my way today, I know God’s in control, and I’m making up my mind right now to be happy and enjoy this day.”

You are cleansing your mind. You are cleaning out all the toxins, all the negativity, and all the condemnation. During the day when opportunities
arise to be offended, to be upset, to be discouraged, don’t accept those thoughts. Banish them from your daily mental diet.

If somebody is rude to you or offends you and negative thoughts arise, instead of dwelling on them, learn to say, “I’m not getting upset. I know this day is a gift from God, and I’m making a decision to stay in peace.”

When you do that, you are staying with a healthy mental diet. That toxic thought can’t poison you if you don’t dwell on it.

Don’t accept their hurtful words about what you can’t do and what you can’t become and that you aren’t as smart as someone else. Don’t allow those lies to take root. You are not who other people say you are. You are who God says you are. And He says, “You are talented. You are creative. You are anointed. You are strong. You are determined. You are confident. You are a victor and not a victim.”

A woman told me recently about the negative environment she grew up in. The people who raised her were constantly putting her down, and she didn’t feel like she measured up to her sister. She couldn’t seem to catch any good breaks and couldn’t keep any good friends. She finally said, “It’s like these people have cursed my future. It’s been one disappointment after another.”

I told her what I’m telling you: Before anyone could put a curse on you, God put a blessing on you. And no matter what they’ve said about you, no matter how they’ve tried to make you feel, the blessing always overrides the curse.

Get in agreement with God and start shaking it off. Just say, “Thanks, but no thanks. That’s not on my diet. I know who I am. I’m a child of the Most High God. I am blessed and I cannot be cursed. I am surrounded with favor. I’m wearing my crown of honor. I’m equipped with everything I need to succeed.”

If you go around thinking and speaking like that, those toxic thoughts won’t have a chance. Always remember, you are not who people say you are, you are who God says you are. People may say you’ll never be successful. God says whatever you touch will prosper.

People may say you’ll never get well. God says with long life He will satisfy you. People may say you will never overcome that challenge. God says He will always cause you to triumph. People may say your family will never get on the right track. God says that you and your house will serve the Lord.

I believe there’s a cleansing taking place as you read this book. I can see through my eyes of faith right now that your toxic thoughts are starting to dissipate. I can see strongholds that have held you back for years being broken. I can see you stepping into a new freedom, rising to a new level.

I see you shaking off negativity and coming into faith. I see you breaking free from condemnation and stepping into confidence. I see a mind-set of poverty and defeat giving way to an abundant life mentality. As you get rid of those toxic thoughts, God will take you places you’ve never dreamed of.