It Matters How You Think

What have you been thinking about in the last 24 hours?

If you were to categorize your recent thoughts, would your list look like this: 50% stress, 20% hurry, 20% frustrated, 10% trying to relax?

Dallas Willard writes, the ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we will let our minds dwell on.

Your thoughts are important because they occupy real estate in your mind and develop pathways of thinking that affect your actions, character, attitude and destiny.

I just got home from an overnight stay at the hospital for a pacemaker implant and I can honestly say my thoughts were 50% peace, 20% calm, 20% trust, and 10% twinges of anxiety. But let me tell you, that is ONLY because I have worked hard at capturing my fear-based, worry-travelled pathways of thinking.

A Renewed Mind is Possible 

I have experienced the anxiety that comes with toxic, unhealthy thinking and (praise God!) I have also cooperated with the work of the Holy Spirit’s transformation and renewal of my mind.

The turnaround from unhealthy to healthy thinking came when I did a deep dive into Philippians 4:8.

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Philippians 4:8 NIV

Both the Bible and brain research warn you about the power of toxic thinking. 

Your thought life is powerful and has direct correlation to your actions and reactions.  You find yourself, your marriage, and your children stuck in patterns of unhealthy thinking, like fear, control, anger, and frustration; and that lifestyle is not even close to the plan God has designed for you. 

Friend, my prayer is that you break free from unhealthy thinking, tackle the anxiety in your life, and deal with your fears. May you mind be renewed and may you walk in your true God-given, healthy-thinking identity.

. . . let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Romans 12:2 NLT

Consider This. . . 

1. What thoughts are overwhelming you?

Pay attention to how you are feeling today. If you are zapped of energy or anxious, can you trace it back to what has been occupying your thinking?  

Decide if you want to allow those thoughts to run rampant through your mind or if they need to be captured and replaced with a truth from God’s Word.

Romans 8:6 tells you, For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. (ESV)

Our thoughts build pathways in our minds that we automatically travel.

My fear-based thought patterns were more like super-highways with billboards. I used to process every situation through fear. I automatically hopped on the fear super-highway believing all the lies and misinformation as I travelled down this unhealthy thinking lane.

Maybe your thinking pathway is anger, or “I can’t”, or insecurity. Whatever it is, YOU are the only one who can change your thinking!

You have a choice. Stay in the mind-set of your natural thinking, or set your mind on the Spirit and truth of God’s Word.

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

Did you catch that last line? Oh, that YOU would choose life, so that YOU and your children might live!

Let the power of that verse rock your heart! YOU HAVE A CHOICE!

2. Have I lost my footing?

Actions and reactions begin with a thought.

If you feel unsure and are walking on uneven ground right now, consider there might be a rogue thought that is causing this reaction and identify it as unhealthy.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NLT

A rebellious thought is a lie and doesn’t agree with God’s Word or submit in obedience to Christ.

The first step to capturing that thought is to name it.

Which of these unhealthy pathways do you tend to travel with your thoughts?

• Frustration
• If only
• Negativism
• Defensive
• Complacent
• Nobody cares
• Poverty mentality
• Unresolved family issues

The best way to capture a rogue thought is to speak the Word of God into the situation. God’s Word is a sword against the lies of the enemy and your own self-thoughts. Ask God for a verse and then pray it and personalize it. Speak it out loud into your situation.

Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Ephesians 6:17 NLT

Don’t Sit Back – Take Action

You cannot sit back and hope someday you will have a happy, and healthy thought life. You have to purposefully work at healthy thinking

That is why my daughter Kristin and I have developed The Volcano: A Tool for Managing Your Thoughts.

It is a coaching course that gives you the tools you need to change your unhealthy thinking to God-centered, truth-filled thought patterns.

This course has changed my life and rerouted my super-highway of fear into a new pathway of peace.

It will do the same for you!

For more information, check this out.