Battle Ready by Kelly BalarieSample

Day Two: The Seeds of Bad Thinking

To sow seeds of bad thinking or unrighteousness almost always reaps a harvest of bad consequences: distance from God, hatred toward oneself, frustration at life, irritation at a lack of growth. Looking back, I can see how this has played out time and time again in my life. 

So often . . . 

I sowed the thought: I can’t do it.

I reaped: An identity of a failure. 

I sowed the thought: [Insert name] is thinking [XYZ] about me. They must [hate, not like, think poorly of, not want, be judging] me. 

I reaped: Insecurity that blinds me to the needs of others.

I sowed the thought: I exist to just “get by.”

I reaped: Continual anxiety and fear of being exposed as a fraud. 

I sowed the thought: I am so stupid.

I reaped: A paralyzed life. My self-restricting words trained my mind not to move forward with opportunities, risks, and dreams. 

I sowed the thought: I can’t trust people (or God); they hurt me.

I reaped: Shame. I can’t mess up or ever do bad things because I’ll be the embarrassed fool. 

I sowed the thought: People will never like me for who I am.

I reaped: Lies about who I really was. 

I sowed the thought: Life’s unfair to me and always will be. 

I reaped: A crisis-mode life where God doesn’t show up. 

Amazingly, because of the chemical makeup of our brain, our mind deciphers no difference between perception and reality. What we think instructs our mind. Repeated negative statements, sowed day after day, tell our mind, “Hey, that right there is my truth!” Then our mind acts on it—whether we like it or not. 

Thoughts sowed reap habits. Habits create your life. 

Be careful, little mind, what you think. Your thoughts can either push you ahead or draw you back, restrict you or re-create you, antagonize you or harmonize you with God’s peace. 

What do you sow? What do you reap? What are you seeing in your life? 

“Blessed . . . are those who hear the word of God and obey it” (Luke 11:28). Sow a hearing of real truth, reap obedience, and see God’s blessing. 

When has a negative thought you had affected your life in a negative way?