I like to think that I am a ‘thoughtful’ person, but today, as I was looking back on some ‘old’ journal entries from a few months ago, well, here’s what I came across in BIG BOLD WRITTING…
STOP LIVING THOUGHTLESSLY.
This is the beauty of journaling… I’m able to remember the things that the LORD would not want me to forget. And apparently, a few months back, the LORD wanted me to ‘stop living thoughtlessly.’
As we all know, life moves pretty fast. Meaning, it’s often easier to react and respond to all that’s happening in any given day than approach each and every day and the many moments of the day with great thought and intentionality. It’s not that we don’t have a plan or things we’d like to get done each day, we do, but as we all know, lots and lots of unexpected things can happen within a day.
Whether it be getting that unexpected text, phone call, or email. Or maybe, your boss, professor, or coach decided to put another unexpected project on your plate that you didn’t see coming. I think you get the point… even the best laid out ‘thoughtful to-do-list’ can be quickly blown apart by just one ‘unexpected’ thing coming our way.
Living thoughtfully does not mean we have the ability to orchestrate and/or control everything that happens in any given day. Rather, living thoughtfully is ALL about living in such a way that even when the ‘unexpected’ happens, we’ve thoughtfully thought through how we might respond to the ‘unexpected.’
So rather than get angry or annoyed, we’ve thoughtfully prepared to be humble and helpful. Instead of letting words fly out of our mouths that we cannot take back, we’ve thoughtfully thought through how we might use our words to bless and build up those who hear them.
I know for me… maybe this is true of you as well, but there have been WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE that have been hurt because I was thoughtless. There are just way too many examples of me being thoughtless in the moment that left people feeling disheartened or discouraged all because I was thoughtless in my response or reaction to the ‘unexpected.’
In looking back as to why I wrote, ‘Stop living thoughtlessly’ in my journal, this was the Bible verse that I had also written down in my journal that same day.
“I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.”
1 Corinthians 10:33 (NLT)
Paul is NOT saying that we do not do what is best for us, it’s ok to do that. But not to be missed, we apply that same mentality to those around us for one over-arching reason… ETERNITY MATTERS!
If you knew that what you said might change someone’s eternal destiny, would you choose your words more ‘thoughtfully?’
If you knew that your decision might change someone’s eternal destiny, would you make that decision more ‘thoughtfully?’
I think ‘yes’ - 100% yes to both questions.
Journaling, well, if you haven’t given it a try yet, PLEASE DO. Journaling is so HELPFUL for remembering that which the LORD does not want you to forget. And if you’ve been journaling for some time now, take some time to look back on what you wrote a few months ago to see if there’s anything the LORD would want you to re-remember.
And together, let’s ALL continue to grow in LIVING THOUGHTFULLY, trusting that the LORD will use that to change the eternal destiny of those around us.
