Daniel 5:10
“Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:”
The verse above comes from the story about Belshazzar, the king, making a party with all of his friends. At this party alcohol was being served, and I am sure there were many other wicked things going on. Belshazzar, who was the son of Nebuchadnezzar, had seen what God did to his father in his pride, and knew better than to live the wicked lifestyle that he was living. But instead of doing right, he thought he was smarter than his father and ended up at a drunken party where he saw a hand writing words upon the wall. The one thing I want you to notice from this story is what the queen said to Belshazzar in the verse above. She said, “...let not thy thoughts trouble thee...” The truth is he should have let his thoughts trouble him, for the lifestyle that he was living was wrong and he knew it. These troubled thoughts that Belshazzar was having were nothing more than a guilty conscience.
As I write this devotional I wonder, do you have troubled thoughts? Are your thoughts troubled about the lifestyle that you are living? Are your thoughts troubled because of the past and some of the things you may have done to others? Are your thoughts troubled because of wasted time you have had when it comes to your life? Many people go through life with thoughts that trouble them. Many times you will find that people try to drown these troubled thoughts out with alcohol and drugs. Though this is the extreme, I have also found there are people whose troubled thoughts come out in the form of bitterness, anger, violence, gossip and many other hurtful actions. No Christian should ever live their life with troubled thoughts, for when they got saved God wiped their record clean. But though our record has been wiped clean by God, we tend to continue living life in such a way that causes our thoughts to be troubled or our conscience to be filled guilt.
When your thoughts are troubled, there are some things you need to do. First of all, ask yourself if your troubled thoughts are true. You only hurt yourself more by trying to ignore or drown out your troubled thoughts. Instead of trying to drown out the problems in your life, you would be wise to find out if the Holy Spirit is trying to get you to correct something.
Secondly, change what is troubling your thoughts. Like I have said before, ignoring your thoughts will only hurt you. Instead of ignoring your thoughts, you should try to silence them, not by running to vices or lashing out at people, but by changing that part of your life that is causing these troubled thoughts.
Thirdly, correct what is troubling your thoughts. If your thoughts are being troubled because of what you did to someone in the past, then you need to right that wrong. Don't live the rest of your life wishing you had corrected your wrong. Correct it, for once you do, you will find your thoughts are relieved.
Last of all, live your life in such a way that you won't have troubled thoughts. The best way to keep from having troubled thoughts is to live your life in such a way so that you have no regrets. You don't have to live your life with troubled thoughts. The most peaceful way to live is to have a clear thought life that carries no guilt about what you have done or what you are doing.
If you have a troubled thought life, then correct it. If you don't have a troubled thought life, then live life so that you never will.
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