Out of a Ditch

Anita Delene Manthe
Aug 15, 2016
2 min read

Somehow, you’re in a mess. It seems as though all of a sudden life seems like it’s in a ditch and you’re surprised to find yourself there.

How did this happen?

As you try to reason through the problem, you recognize there have been circumstances leading up to it. It could be a besetting sin issue – your own, or others have sinned against you, and your thought process in response to either reality has been undisciplined. Your undisciplined thoughts have been acted on and now you’re left struggling with a mess.

To prevent the messes we find ourselves in we are exhorted to be transformed by the renewing of our mind – to change the way we think about circumstances whether it be what others have done to us, or our emotions that are now out of control. Either way we question how the struggle became what it now is?

Something occurred, and we responded incorrectly. Instead of calling our thoughts sin, we entertained them. We allowed the situation to gain a foothold in our imagination, in our thoughts, and then we let it settle there. Once settled we justified our reasons and accommodated our thoughts. Soon we accepted this as our normal and established way of thought, and we began to act accordingly. Negative thoughts had found a corner in our minds and we no longer challenged it. It became okay!

Now, those thoughts hold us captive, and we act on them.

Psalm 1 teaches how we first walk, then stand, and then sit with those who are sinful. Our thought processing follows the same pattern. A thought drifts, we hold it, and we settle it down. When this occurs, we are primed for sin. The Psalm continues revealing those who delight in the Lord will flourish. Delighting is a choice, it comes through disciplined thought processes. It comes from silencing negative thoughts before they become a stronghold.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Psalm 1:1-6)
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).