Have you ever asked yourself,

“hmm…why did I do that?”

“Why did I make that decision? Why did I react in that way?”

“what was my reasoning there, what was my heart, my intentions in making that decision that I made?”

While it’s healthy to check our hearts, our intentions, our reasons, it really can go too far and turn into “dwelling”, rather quickly. And not the kind of “dwelling in the secret place” ha!

“Oh! Why in the world did I do that?? Ohhhh… what was I thinking?”

This morning as I was fixing my eggs and coffee, my mind wanted to go back to a thing I did, a reaction… and it wasn’t anything “bad” that I did or “wrong”, and it certainly wasn’t any kind of significant thing, but I stood there with my mind, and started trying to figure out “why” I reacted the way I did, what compelled me to react the way I did, and what was the result of the way I reacted…. and what was my true heart and intentions behind that reaction and the choice I made in that moment.

(I know, it’s such a typical INFJ tendency isn’t it? ?)

As I went into my mind and thought back to that moment, I quickly realized that this was doing no good.

While it’s good to check my heart, it’s good to take a look at my reactions and my heart behind them, it’s definitely not good to dwell on something like this. It’s actually dangerous to dwell in this way, to allow this kind of mind “replay”.

And if you knew what the situation was, it was the stupidest, meaningless little thing. Somehow this led me into this whole analyzation thing that led to me questioning whether or not I would do the “right” thing and make the “right decision” in a heated moment or emergency situation. –blah blah blah…

Woah –too far…

Taking up way too much mental space and time.

Then I remembered these verses,

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! – Isaiah 43:18-19

“…But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

Yea, there’s a reason God put that extremely helpful piece of wisdom in His Word. He knows where the mind can go, and what that can do. He knows it’s wasteful and even damaging when we dwell like this, when we cross that line into the replaying and dwelling and replaying and dwelling.

Thank you for the reminder, Lord. You know what’s best for us! I’m ready to start this day now!

–Heather ?