The story was told of one of the biggest tech giants in our world today. While he was only a small boy, the mother looked for him everywhere until she found him sitting quietly in his room. The mother shouted at him and asked; “Son, where have you been? We’ve been looking for you.” His reply shocked the mother and got her thinking; “Mum, I’m thinking, don’t you think?” He had committed to a life of thinking at a very young age.
Friend, strategy is better than energy. One of the things you need to pray for and go for this year is the right strategy (Luke 2:46-52, John 6:6). Listen, you cannot continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. There are about four types of work we all need to do if we would become all that God has planned for us. They are knee work (prayer), brain work (thinking), mouth work (confession), and leg work (physical work).
A lot of times, people jump to the leg work without doing the other kinds of work, especially the brain work. Little wonder they get poor results (Ecclesiastes 10:15). Perhaps you have not done much thinking this year. I know you have been praying like crazy. But don’t forget to think. God hears our thoughts as much as He hears our words (Ephesians 3:20).
When you pray, God supplies the strategy, but you need to engage your mind in order to interpret and execute the strategy. If you pray so well but think so poorly, you would not get the benefits of prayer. Perhaps the biggest problem of today’s church is not lack of prayer but lack of biblical meditation (Joshua 1:8).
Christianity is not against the use of our brain. It is actually an energizer of the same (1 Corinthians 2:16). Actually, because of Jesus, we now have a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). We can now think God’s thought. We can now think solutions and possibilities. If you don’t use your mind correctly and maximally, you would be undermining redemption.
This year, engage your mind productively. The same energy it takes to worry is the same energy it takes to think. The focus is what matters (Philippians 4:6-8). The same energy it takes to commit crime is the same energy it takes to think constructively. The same society and set of circumstances that produce criminals also produce solution providers. It is a matter of choice. Give your mind the right diet and direction. You will succeed.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria