A Life Filled with Joy & Peace

Pastor Craig Groeschel preaches a funny but sobering sermon about our thought-life. Craig does a good job at showing us how much our thoughts will impact our well-being in life. Our lives move in the direction of our strongest thoughts. I can't let my mind be controlled by negativity, fear and worry and expect my life to still be full of peace. My thoughts matter and what I choose to dwell on will determine in what direction my life will be moving. The outcome of a difficult situation that I'm faced with will be entirely different depending on what my thinking looks like. My own inner dialog matters.

My actions will always be based on my thoughts. First we think, then we act, therefore what we think about will impact our lives in a great way. If we don't learn to take control of our thought-life our minds will be prisoners to negative, hopeless, dark thoughts that will drain us of energy and leave us with no peace. When we give our thoughts over to being led by the Holy Spirit our minds will no longer be filled with fear, hopelessness, worry, anxiety and despair. The more we are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit the more light our thoughts will become. Our minds will be filled with peace, life and joy in both good times and difficult times.

It's easy to assume that to have a life filled with joy we need a life free of difficulty but that is not the case. God offers us a peace and joy that will not leave us, a peace and joy so deep that even when our circumstances are not great we can still have joy and be at peace on the inside. I love this quote by Craig Groeschel from the sermon: "So much of life isn't about what happens to you but how you think about what happens to you."