I recently heard a story about a vulture and a hummingbird. They were both in the same place, but one was looking for death and the other was looking for life. They both found what they were looking for. One fed on death, the other fed on life.
So that begs the question: what do I feed on? What do I look for? Something that leads to death (negative), or something that leads to life (positive)?
The world likes to minimize this by saying we are a glass half empty or half full. But I say I don’t want to be a half-full kind of person either; I want to be a glass-overflowing kind of person!
When we look at the world through its own lens, we see the negative (death). But when we look at the world through the eyes of Christ, we are always looking for the life and positive in every situation!
This reminds me of the biases I learned about in school. One of the biases is called Confirmation Bias: “This involves favoring or focusing on information that confirms your existing beliefs and preconceptions.” In other words, we find what we look for.
If we look for God to work all things together for good, we will find what we are looking for. If we only look at the death and destruction of this world, that is all we will see.
We have all heard it said, “Your life will always move in the direction of your strongest thoughts.“ And the Bible says the same:
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” Proverbs 23:7a KJV
I need to be mindful of what I allow in the windows of my thoughts. What am I trying to confirm, the positive or the negative, death or life? What do I want to convey in my words to the world?
I need to immerse myself in the positive, life-giving Word of God, find my confirmation there, so I can speak life-giving words to those around me!
As you go through your day, consider what lens you are viewing the world through. Are you looking for the life-giving, positive moments, or are you focused on the negative? Choose today to feed on the positive and let the Word of God guide your thoughts. Share your journey with others, and let’s spread life-giving words together. Subscribe to my blog for more reflections and join the conversation in the comments below!
2 thoughts on “I Choose Today My Thoughts”
Love it. It was so eye opening to understand that we will find what we’re looking for, whether good or bad. The Story of the vulture and the hummingbird will stick with me, hopefully forever, and remind me to always shine the light of Christ, even in the worst of situations. As Christ followers, he tells us that all things work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purposes. That’s hard to remember, but we can be like the hummingbird and keep looking until we find it.
The story of the vulture and the hummingbird got me too! What a poignant illustration that will hopefully stick to us! Look for Christ (life) in all things and He will open our eyes to see it!