If you were to take inventory of your most consistent thoughts, what would you find? Research tells us that up to 70% of our daily thoughts bend towards negativity. Is it any wonder that we’re always just minutes away from anxiety, discouragement, or frustration?
What would you guess to be some of the most common lies we believe? Here are a few:
• I’m not enough
• I’m all alone
• I’m not accepted by people who matter
• If people really knew me, they wouldn’t love me
• I’m a have-not
• I’m hopelessly flawed
• I’m out of options
• Things never work out for me
Did you know that every one of those lies can be debunked with scripture? In ourselves, we are not enough, but because of Christ, we’ve become heirs of God, made in His image, called for His glory (Romans 8:15-17)! We may feel alone at times, but God is ever and always with us (Psalm 139). We may be rejected by a few seemingly important people, and, it’s quite possible we’re misreading the situation altogether. But either way, it really doesn’t matter. Scripture compares man’s opinion to a puff of air (Isaiah 2:22). Only God’s opinion matters, and no one can change His mind about you (1 John 4:16). As a believer, you’re never out of options because you serve the God who makes a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43:18-19). And like my friend Jodi says, “If your story is not good yet, it’s because God is not done yet.” Things will work out for you because God says so. He works all things together for the good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Our lives are bursting with promise!
So why do we take a backseat and let our rogue thoughts and our unpredictable emotions to lead the way? We’re not at the mercy of our thoughts but we sure live like it sometimes.
Recently on Middays, I spoke with Jennie Allen, author of the book, “Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts.” She writes:
“The greatest spiritual battle of our generation is taking place between our ears. Again, and again, we allow lies from the enemy to influence our thoughts about who God is and how He is at work in our lives. But we have the opportunity to stop our spiraling minds and escape toxic thinking patterns… We have bought the lie that we are victims of our thoughts rather than warriors equipped to fight on the front lines of the greatest battle of our generation; the battle for our minds.”
One of the biggest points Jennie made during this interview is this: We have a choice. We can stop the spiral of negative thinking. In fact, we must. Jennie explained the neurological process that takes place in our brain when we circle around negative mindsets. It’s like we activate cellular structures to build little cities or empires that could take us down. And conversely, when we think redemptively, those same cellular structures works to build empires that strengthen us, impact our health and sense of well-being, and hugely impact the choices we make from day to day.
Jenny concluded:
How your thoughts impact your life“When you take every thought captive and reclaim your thinking patterns from the lies of the enemy, you are set free to set others free. In a very real way, your thoughts can change the world. It starts in your head, and from there, the possibilities are endless.”
