The truth of circular thinking depends on what your core values are. True Circular Thinking is an effective tool to be used against our arch enemy, Satan.

Circular thinking is a repetition of ideas, thoughts or considerations. It can be the bearer of productivity, or as a modern  man sees it, a negative force. True or false?

Circular Thinking

Google it and the majority of information is about how to break circular thinking. It is compared to running on a hamster wheel, always arriving back where you started. That is retrospective thinking with a negative effect, for there is never a resolution.

However, circular thinking is foundational roots to education. This also applies to analyzation, engineering, science, communal living, research, and networking. The list goes on and on. Circular thinking encourages you to dig deeper and explore different angles, which should lead to a better understanding.

Facts About Circular Thinking

The fact is we all think in circles and can only hold onto one thought at a time. A W Tozer wrote it is almost impossible to step off a train of thought and move away in a straight line from the point of departure. He claimed we are all compelled by the structure of our minds, to move around a circle. We often pass the same ideas as if they are loved and familiar landmarks.

Science says there is a natural circular development between our mind and our brain. The brain is likened to a light bulb, while the mind is like the light which only appears when the bulb is working. In other words, the mind is a virtual brain.

The brain provides the physical connection to life, but you experience real life through the mind. In the spiritual realm we can only know God through the spirit, for God is spirit, John 4:24, and deep calls to deep, Psalm 42:7.

Few Ideas

Tozer went on to say that minimal ideas make up the whole fabric of human thought. The most learned scholar, or profound thinker, has no more than a few relatively major ideas to work with.

Consider the old masters who created masterpieces of artwork using only seven basic colours. Great works by Beethoven or Mozart were created with only a handful of musical tones, though no composition is the same as any other.

New thoughts may be added to the sum of our knowledge all the way to the end of our life, but they only enlarge the original tapestry. Greatness lies in the ability to combine and recombine old and familiar ideas to form new and original beautiful ideas. Together they move around a familiar circle.

Proof of Circular Thinking

The are 150 Psalms in the Bible. Each one is a treasure and has been used by thousands of worshippers for millennia. Yet, if we were to eliminate all the repetition, the book of Psalms would be reduced to a handful of Psalms.

Like those who enjoy great music, those who love the Word of God never tire or become bored with the repetitions. Rather, they inflame the mind with the awesomeness of God. Each different way of saying the same thing appears new and fresh as if it had only been discovered a few minutes before.

The same can be said of the letters of Paul. The thoughts and instructions they contain are in fact few, but they are like pillars that uphold the mighty Christian universe. They contain all we need for this world and the next. The same can be said of the great hymns, where modern choruses do not seem to ring with the same rousing depth. Many say the same about modern authors where so many do not have any original thoughts.

Living and Active

The value of circular thinking is in the reading of the Bible. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than two-edged sword. Piercing as far as the division of the soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow. Able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, Hebrews 4:12.

You can read the Bible every day for 70 years or more. All is old and familiar but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we see something new and fresh each time we open the Word. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. But the glory of kings is to search out a matter, Proverbs 25:2.

A circle can start out small but as our knowledge increases the circle increases. The basic facts do not change, but our understanding is enlarged.

Great Stress

Change is upsetting. We are a creature of habit and enjoy running on the hamster’s wheel. When we are ‘comfortable’ we do things with very little thought.

Moving house is one of the most stressful experiences, compared with losing a loved one. It takes weeks to get into the comfort of living in a new place. Here is further proof that we operate circularly in our mind.

That God changes not, Malachi 3:6, is of  tremendous value to the follower of Christ. God knows the end from the beginning, Isaiah 46:10. This is the believer’s security and the basis of our faith, Hebrews 11:1.

True Importance of a Circle

Circles have no beginning or end, just like God has no beginning and no end. The heart of every circle is the pivotal point, the centre, the hub. It is the anchor that holds the geometrical figure in place.

You can only have a circle when have a pivotal point. All points on the circle are at equal distance from the pivotal point. Note the New Jerusalem is described as a cube not a circle, Revelation 21:15-17. You can choose to be on the outer edge, or be a pillar in the temple of My God, Revelation 3:12. It’s all about relationship.

God is the pivotal point from Genesis to Revelation. The real followers of Christ have God as their true pivotal point as they strive to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. To a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:13.  

Alpha and Omega

Christ is our Alpha and Omega, Revelation 1:8. We usually think of that as a straight line, but in fact it is a never-ending circle, John 1:1.

In Christ we are eternal – a circle that goes on forever. God chose us before we were in the womb, Psalm 139:16, Jeremiah 1:5, Ephesians 1:4. He created us that He might dwell in the midst of us forever.

For all eternity God will reveal new aspects of His glory to His people. This is a concept that is hard to conceive from the limitations of our earthly existence. We need to lay hold of what Paul wrote. Reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, Philippians 3:14.

Truth of Circular Thinking

I do not want to know how to break the power of circular thinking. We are to keep seeking things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth Colossians 3:1,2.

The truth and privilege of every Born Again follower of Christ is that Circular Thinking is our pivotal point and a tool against our arch enemy. May the circle grow larger every day for Circular Thinking is our heaven-sent protection.

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Dr. Wendy Stenberg-Tendys is a freelance writer and servant of the Lord who enjoys researching a topic and sharing words of encouragement from the Word of God.

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