Not of God

Discontentment, a critical attitude, a negative spirit, doubt and unbelief are not of God.

I may think that I’m just being critical of another person…but more importantly I’m being critical of God.  When I do that I demonstrate a lack of trust in God, His character and His purpose in allowing difficult people or challenging circumstances into my life.
 
Yesterday, when my mind was jumbled with emotions, God helped me to recognize that I was sinning against Him and others.  He helped me to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 
 
Basically, God told me to drop and give him 50 praises.  Every time that I was tempted to whine or be critical…God challenged me to instead turn it around and give Him praise and offer thanks. 
 
It’s not easy to do that…but it is good and it is right.  To do that I am fighting my own selfish, sinful nature.  I can choose to be lazy and let my thoughts take me wherever they want to go.  Or I can take captive every thought.  When I do that, I’m denying myself and choosing to believe God. 
 
One thing that has proved to be a huge help when my mind is clouded is to recite or write out scriptures that I’ve recently memorized. 
 
God calls each one of us to have the mind of Christ.  How can I do that without knowing God’s word and hiding it in my heart?  How can I do that unless I actively choose to believe God?  That includes deep down to the very thoughts and intentions of my heart.  Do I have a living faith that’s manifest daily?