Imagine you’re making a cake. You use flour that’s been at the back of the cupboard for years, eggs that have gone off, butter that’s starting to look mouldy, and something from the sugar bowl that may actually be salt. Would you expect the cake to taste good?

The effect that bad things have is obvious when we think about cooking, but we can forget that the same applies to our minds – if we fill them with bad things, we’ll be more likely to have negative, hurtful thoughts. Every day we’re bombarded with messages from social media, TV, other people, books, music, and from our own thoughts. We need to discern what to let in and what to close the door on.

Satan works in two ways. First, he tries to feed us with stuff like temptation, depression, and worry. Second, he tries to keep us from noticing what we’re putting into our minds. A mind fed on good things tends to have more healthy, good thoughts. Jesus said He came to give us ‘life more abundantly’ (see John 10:10). Our minds have the potential to overflow with peace, joy, and happiness, but first we need to pay attention to what they’re focused on.

Jeremiah said, ‘When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight’ (Jeremiah 15:16 NIV). We need to ask, ‘What can I feed my mind on today so that it will flourish?’ One of the greatest gifts God has given us is Scripture. The psalmist said that when we delight in God’s Word, we’ll prosper in whatever we do (see Psalm 1:1-3). So let’s fill our minds with good ingredients, like Scripture, praise, and kindness.

What Now?

Have a think about the things you’ve let into you mind in the last 24 hours. Is there anything that could have caused ungodly or unhelpful thoughts? If you can, try avoiding it in future, and replace it with something that helps you turn your mind to God and things that please Him.