off of the negative and onto the goodness…

now all of the sudden in verse 17 of chapter 1, james switches gears.  he starts talking about the goodness of GOD.  it looks like he forgot what he was talking about – at first.  verse 17 (niv), every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the FATHER of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.

james is talking about temptation and then all of a sudden he redirects his thoughts to the goodness of GOD.  first he’s talking about something negative and then he’s talking about something positive.  he’s refocusing our attention on something else.  why? because that’s the next step in overcoming temptation.  be realistic, be responsible, be ready, be refocused.  be refocused.  be refocused.

if temptation begins with our inner thoughts then changing what we think about is the key to overcoming it.  that’s the principle of replacement, the key to overcoming temptation.  the key to overcoming temptation is not to fight temptation but simply refocus your thoughts.  change your attention.  shift your thoughts.  change your mind.  refocus.

instead of looking at what you’re being tempted by, just look somewhere else.  refocus.  philippians 4.8 (niv), think on these things, things that are good, positive, just, honest.  focus your mind on the goodness of GOD.

why?  because the more you fight the feeling the more it grabs you.  don’t focus on what you don’t want, focus on what you do want.  turn your attention, be refocused.  get your eyes off of the negative and get your eyes on the goodness of GOD. 

just a thought from the front porch…