The Quickest Way to Have an Attitude Adjustment - The Crosswalk Devotional - January 27

The Quickest Way to an Attitude Adjustment
By Lynette Kittle

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” - Hebrews 4:12

Have you ever found yourself in need of an attitude adjustment? If so, be encouraged, as you’ve reached the most critical step in receiving one by knowing you’re in need of it. Realizing and recognizing there are wrong attitudes in your heart and mind is the breakthrough moment to a new attitude. So many of us walk around, living day-to-day with no idea we might need some adjustments. For sure, God is quick to recognize wrong attitudes in us, even if we think we’re covering them up with our words. “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matthew 15:8).

Although wrong attitudes are often easy for us to see in others, for some reason, they are usually very difficult to see in ourselves. Because it is sometimes almost impossible to see wrong attitudes within us, what is the quickest way to an attitude adjustment? As Hebrews 4:12 explains, when we commit to reading God’s Word, it has the power to cut through our soul and spirit and to judge our heart’s attitudes. Nothing else in the world has the ability to do so like the living Word of God.

God’s Word Actively Exposes and Corrects Wrong Attitudes
God’s Word is so vital to our daily lives and the quickest way to recognize and reveal hidden mindsets, especially helpful in addressing and adjusting wrong and sinful attitudes. Because it is alive and active, it doesn’t ever grow outdated or irrelevant to correct current incorrect thoughts and ways of thinking. Before wrong attitudes can enter our hearts, God’s Word has the power to stop them before we accept them into our thinking. As 2 Timothy 3:16 explains, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”

Three Ways God’s Word Adjusts Attitudes
As well, Proverbs 6:21,22 describes three ways it has the ability to help us live daily with the right attitude when we take the time to make it the top priority in our lives by reading, studying, and applying it to our lives. ”Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you.”

1. God’s Word guides our attitudes.
His Word will take lead in our lives to help guide our thoughts, Words, and actions each and every day to be aligned with His ways over worldly wisdom and philosophies. As 2 Corinthians 10:5 explains, with God’s Word, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

2. God’s Word protects our attitudes as we sleep.
Have you ever woken up in a bad mood, feeling disgruntled, upset, negative, and on edge, not knowing why? Well, that isn’t just by accident. The enemy of our souls works through the night to influence our thoughts and attitudes. But as Christians, we don’t have to wake up with wrong thinking and mindsets because God says His words will protect and watch over us when we’re sleeping, guarding our hearts and minds against the onslaught of the enemy’s attacks. His Word works as a shield against the enemy’s midnight assaults. As Proverbs 30:5 assures, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

3. God’s Word speaks to our attitudes during the day. When we’re awake, God will personally speak to us through His Word. Because it is alive and active, when we take the time to read and know it, God will speak to us through it at times when we need to hear His voice.

Although some think God’s Word only speaks to us in a general way, He speaks through it to our hearts and minds in very personal deep, life-changing, transformational ways.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
How is your attitude today? Did you wake up in a bad mood? Most of us often don’t recognize wrong attitudes within ourselves, or even worse, we justify having them. If you’re not sure how you’re doing today, ask God to expose any wrong attitudes in your heart and correct wrong thinking with His Word.

Further Reading:
7 Toxic Attitudes to Let Go of This New Year

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.