FOCUS

BY: RODERICK GRAY

“God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart. God said, “I’ll get rid of my ruined creation, make a clean sweep: people, animals, snakes and bugs, birds—the works. I’m sorry I made them.” - Genesis 6:5-7 (MSG)

As we look at the life of Noah we discover that undisciplined, unchecked and wicked imaginations can cost you your life. Noah was born in a time where the imaginations of the people were unconstrained and wicked continually. Their imaginations caused them to manifest behavior contrary to God and produce an environment, culture, and society that would be unsafe and unhealthy to thrive in. This caused a loving God to grieve and repent that He had even made mankind. The intellectual framework of the people’s mind was bad. You can’t build any solid, strong and sound structure with poor framework. Whether you are building a marriage, career, business, ministry or community they all need strong frameworks. Noah didn’t allow the world’s way of thinking and doing things to manipulate his views towards God nor allow them to derail the plans that God had set for him and his family. In the midst of a world of vain imagination, moral and spiritual decay, Noah’s commitment and strong mental focus caused him to become a world changer, a trailblazer, and a master builder. As we learn today from Noah’s life, let’s make mental health a priority. Committing to ourselves to become more disciplined in thought and action. The scripture below is a good template for us to use to assist in cultivating good mental health.

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” - Philippians 4:8-9 The Message (MSG)