Pretend there is a glass of water on the table and you add a tiny drop of green liquid food coloring. What do you think will happen?
If you said the water will turn green, you are correct!
Now pretend you had the same glass of water and the same amount of food coloring, but you only want to make half the water green. Can you?
If you said no, then you are correct again!
There is no way to add food coloring to just a little bit of a glass of water. Once you pour the drop of green in, you will change the way the entire glass looks. The only way to remove the green is to dump it out and fill up the glass with clear, fresh water.
The thoughts that enter your mind are just like the little drops of food coloring that enter a glass of water. “Drops” of negative thoughts will eventually come out in the way you talk, the way you feel, and the way you treat others. Positive thoughts will do the same. You are the only one who can control what drops you pour in!
God wants you to choose to fill your heart and mind with drops of Him and His love. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
There will always be negative things for you to think about. But you can choose to fill your mind with God’s love by looking for Him in the things around you at all times! For example, on a rainy day choose to thank God for sending food for the trees and the grass. Or when your teacher gives you too much homework, don’t complain about how hard it is. Instead thank God for the brain He has given you to be able to learn! Today, watch what type of drops you pour into your glass!
Dear God, help me to fill my mind and heart with Your love and the things that will make me more like You. Please get rid of anything negative that might make me less like You. In Jesus’s name, amen.