Why Is Your Arm Up?

We were sitting in church on Sunday listening to the preacher. I noticed my husband shifting in his seat. Then suddenly I saw him lift his arm beside his head. I thought to myself, "Is he worshipping? Does he want to ask the pastor a question? Has the Holy Spirit come upon him?"

I turned my head to make eye contact. He was in his own world with his arm up. I knew he had a bad arm, so I began to wonder, "Is he being healed right here in front of my eyes?" Then I began to think, "What are all the people sitting behind us thinking? Are they thinking, "Dude, put your arm down I can't see. Hey you up there with your arm up, he's not going to call on you to ask your question. Just e-mail it in later. Hello, nut job, this isn't the music time, why are you raising your hand?"

My thoughts then raced to, "Should I be a good wife and support him? Should I lift my arm too? If I do, which arm should I raise? How should I hold my hand- facing up, down, to the side? Oh great, I'm wearing short sleeves. My "momma flap" that hangs so beautifully under my upper arm is going to wave uncontrollably when I lift my arm. I've got to start wearing long sleeves every Sunday." All these thoughts were racing through my head when finally I decided to just break his spiritual moment and ask, "What are you doing?" He replied every so non-chalantly, "My arm is just bothering me."

Isn't that how our minds work? One small thing happens that is out of sync with our normal routine, and BOOM, our minds go crazy! We start thinking about what happened, why it happened, what everyone else is doing and thinking, what we should be doing, and how we should do it. Why do we do that? It's no wonder Paul wrote "Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor. 10:5

Have you ever stopped to think about what you think about? Try it! If it's not important, doesn't line up with Christ, or is your typical worry... take that thought and chunk it out of your mind! Replace the thought with PREPLANT - things that are Pure, Right, Excellent, Praiseworthy, Lovely, Admireable, Noble, and True. It might save you some wasted time in the middle of a worship service or a lot of burdensome thoughts that weigh you down!