I love the way Google defines intent: “attentively occupied with.” What are you attentively occupied with? What occupies your time? In those precious, rare moments alone, what occupies your thoughts?
Once you become intentional with your thoughts, you become intentional with your actions. Although you may have courageously left an abusive relationship, the abuse may not stop there. There is the battle of the mind that can keep you captive with negative thoughts about yourself.
You can be set free by destroying thoughts that attempt to keep your heart dormant by becoming conscious of your thoughts. How? Counter every negative thought with a positive thought. I have an one-hour commute to and from work. I use this time to pray, think, worship and call out-of-state friends. Most of the time, I am lost in my thoughts and they can quickly drive me off the road emotionally. To prevent this, I keep a stack of index cards in my console with positive truths that I have captured about myself. You can stop a negative thought in its track of destruction by just saying something positive. Through this active reversal you dismantle the negative thought before it can build other scenarios in your mind.
Get into the habit of becoming intentional with your thoughts. Take the opportunity to tell yourself you are strong, you are beautiful, you are smart, you are courageous, and you are destined to win!
In His grip,
