Take Control Of Your Thoughts

Take Control Of Your Thoughts

I used to think my thoughts were something that just happened to me, as if they flew into my mind like birds into a tree and I could not control them. It wasn’t until I received the Lord and saw what the Bible teaches on the subject that I realized we can take charge of our thoughts. In fact, we are instructed to do so.

You may not be able to control every thought that flies into your mind, but you can control how long it perches there. You can decide whether that thought is just passing through or it’s nesting. Your thoughts affect your entire life. That’s why you must take charge of them and not allow any birdbrained ideas to control you.

Thoughts falling under that category can be tormenting. I always fail at everything I do. I know I’ll fail at this too. They can be based on lies. No one loves me. Even God doesn’t love me. They can cause bitterness. I still resent what that person did to me. I wish they would suffer the way they made me suffer. They can be immoral. I know that person is married, but I can’t stop thinking about him (her) all the time. Or they can be downright evil. I could have an affair with that person and my husband (wife) would never have to know.

The definition of birdbrained thoughts is “annoyingly stupid and shallow,” and believe me, that is exactly the way we see these kinds of thoughts when we become free of them. We allow thoughts like these to overtake us because of our own lack of wholeness. The brokenness of our soul can create the perfect environment in which they can thrive. When we become free, those thoughts are no longer welcome.

The enemy of your soul will do whatever it takes to get inside your

mind with his lies. He will plant a thought, a fear, a suspicion, or a wrong idea and torment you with it. It is meant to wear you down. And it works. We must learn to recognize his deception before we can refute and resist it.

The only way to fight his lies is with the truth of the Word. “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:12). We can put on the armor of light by speaking the Word of God out loud. We can pray out loud using Scripture in our prayers. And we can speak and sing words of worship and praise to the Lord.

It is a dangerous thing to just let our thoughts go wherever they take us. “I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts” (Isaiah 65:2). We don’t want to be rebellious against God by going wherever our thoughts take us. We have control over them. We can ask ourselves, What am I letting into my mind? What is the fruit of the thoughts I am thinking? Do my thoughts produce positive and uplifting results? Or do they make me feel bad, sad, anxious, fearful, depressed, or angry? Are these thoughts from the Lord? Or do they seem more like something that comes from the enemy? When you have God’s Word in your mind, you will recognize anything that does not line up with it.

You Can Always Change Your Mind

Paul said to the Corinthians, “I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). When things start becoming confusing or vague—or your mind is anxious, fearful, doubt filled, stressed, or overwhelmed—that is not from the Lord. It never is. The simplicity in Christ is crystal clear, positive, peaceful, faith filled, and calm. Don’t settle for anything less. “God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Your mind can be renewed. Paul said to the Ephesians, “Put off,

concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:22- 23). We can decide to put off wrong ways of thinking or acting—the old self that attracts deception and lust like a magnet—and deliberately be renewed in our mind. We can “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). We can reject any other spirit in our mind that is not the Holy Spirit.

So, contrary to what I used to believe, when our thoughts start flying south, we can stop the migration and cry foul. (Sorry!) We have to say, “No, this is not happening on my watch.” And the reason we can do that is because we have the Holy Spirit in us. We can put the Holy Spirit in charge of our mind. We can refuse the spirit of depression or doubt. We can reject the spirit of fear. Those thoughts come from the enemy of our soul.

The more you know God—by reading His Word and spending time with Him in prayer and worship—the more you can discern what thoughts are of Him and what thoughts are either from your flesh or the enemy. For example, if you find yourself thinking a thought such as, / would be better off dead, you will be able to recognize that this is not God giving you revelation for your life.

This doesn’t mean that you deny having undesirable or wrong thoughts. Nor should you push them down and repress them. It requires examining what is going on in your mind in the light of Scripture to see if your thoughts line up with what God says in His Word.

We all have to become good at resisting wrong thoughts. I am a target of the enemy attack on my mind just as much as anyone else. With every single book I have written—more than 50 now—the enemy has come to me and said, “You can’t do this.” “You’ll never finish it.” “This is the last book you’ll ever write.” In the beginning I used to put up with those thoughts for a while before I figured out what was going on. Then I started recognizing the same pattern. Now, when those thoughts of doubt come over me, I say, “It’s true. I

can’t write this book. There is no way I can finish it. And this will be the last book I ever write if I turn my back on God. But that’s not going to happen. I depend entirely on the Lord to help me write this book. And whether I ever write another one is entirely up to Him. But I have the mind of Christ, and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Thanks for reminding me. And now I’m telling my heavenly Father on you.”

Then I go before God and say, “Lord, I thank You that You have given me authority over all the power of the enemy. I rebuke the plans of the enemy to torment me with the thoughts of fear, failure, doubt, and depression. Thank You that You have given me the mind of Christ. I fully realize that by myself I cannot write this book. I depend on You to inspire me, lead me, give me revelation, and enable me to do beyond what I can do on my own. I give this book to You and ask You to speak through me so that it accomplishes the purpose You have for it.”

The truth is, your thoughts will either serve your flesh or the enemy or the Lord. And the decision is yours. Paul said that evil caused his flesh to war against his mind. He asked who would deliver him from this, and then he answered his own question, saying, “I thank God— through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:25).

Jesus is the Deliverer who sets us free from our own ungodly thoughts.

Because of Jesus, you can change your mind!

Glorify God In Your Mind

The carnal mind is controlled by our flesh. It is an enemy of God because it does not want to obey Him. If we are in the flesh—letting our fleshly thoughts be in charge of our mind—we “cannot please God” (Romans 8:8). Believe me, you don’t want to be living in a way that does not please God. That will shut out the blessings He has for you, and delay what He has planned for your life.

Our fleshly thoughts will keep us from glorifying God. “Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). The only sure remedy for that is to worship God, because worship will always flood your mind and heart with light. Praise Jesus that because of Him, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can be set free from ungodly thoughts that not only damage the soul but hinder all God has for you.

No matter how strong you are in the Lord, the enemy will always attempt to get you to believe a lie. Lying is the only way he gains power over anyone. The enemy will come to tell you that “You are a failure,” “There is no way out,” “Things will never change,” “You will always feel this way,” “God doesn’t care about you,” and on and on. Don’t accept as truth the lies the enemy feeds you. Ask yourself, “Are my thoughts contrary to God’s Word?” Sin begins with a thought in the mind (Mark 7:21-22) . People don’t fall into an adulterous relationship. It begins in the mind first. And that’s the place to put a stop to it. When you have tormenting thoughts, or thoughts you know are not of the Lord, do what the Bible says and think only about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Ask God to help you cast down “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” and to bring “every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Freedom, wholeness, and true success cannot be achieved unless the thoughts in your mind line up with the truth of God’s Word.

Prayer Power

Lord, help me to cast down every thought I have that is not glorifying to You. Enable me to bring my thoughts into captivity and obedience to You and Your ways. I know it is “You who test the righteous, and see the mind and heart” (Jeremiah 20:12). Show me what is in my mind and heart that is not pleasing to You. Reveal to me any lies of the enemy that I have accepted as truth. “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart” (Psalm 26:2). Help me to live with the love, power, and sound mind You have given me.

Teach me the truth of Your Word so well that I recognize a lie the moment it presents itself. I know I cannot move into all You have for me if I believe lies about myself, my circumstances, or You. Help me to silence the voice of the enemy by speaking Your truth. Give me clarity of thought to replace any confusion. I pray that Your Word will discern my “thoughts and intents of the heart” whenever I read it (Hebrews 4:12).

Enable me to choose this day to fill my mind with “the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (Philippians 4:8 MSG). Help me to think straight and not daydream or fantasize. Help me to not entertain thoughts of unforgiveness against anyone or dwell on what has happened in the past. I pray that Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and mind through Jesus, my Lord (Philippians 4:7).

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Word Power

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3

You should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk,

in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.

Ephesians 4:17-18

To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:6

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:5

Chapter 19

Refuse Negative Emotions

God cares about your feelings and emotions. He doesn’t want you to be ruled by them. The Bible says of God that “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). He doesn’t want you to just find a way to cope with negative emotions that undermine your life. He wants you to be completely free of them so you can become the whole person He made you to be.

When we are emotionally fragile and hurting, we are not whole. Being whole means having peace about who you are and what you are doing. It means coming to a place of peace about your past and realizing you don’t have to live there anymore. That takes recognizing and embracing the good aspects of it and coming to terms with the troubling, disappointing, or hurtful parts of it. Wholeness also means having peace about your present situation— even if you feel it is not yet good—because you trust that God will make it right. It also means having peace about your future, no matter how scary it may seem. It is trusting that because you have surrendered your life to the Lord, your future is safe in His hands. You have confidence that you are aligned with God’s will and purpose for your life, and you have an inner joy because of that knowledge. When you can maintain such peace, then you will no longer struggle with negative emotions and you find the freedom, wholeness, and true success you want.

Why Do I Still Hurt?

The amount of hurt and brokenness you experienced in your past will determine how much healing you need now in order to be

whole. No matter what horrible things you have been through, how young you were when they happened, how old you are now, or how much of your life was spent living the wrong way in reaction to it, you can still be set free from negative emotions. That kind of freedom cannot be found outside of God’s love. He is the only one with the power to do a complete work of emotional healing in you.

You must know, first of all, that you don’t have to live with chronic emotional pain or negative emotions. You don’t have to hurt all the time. The reason I know this is because I lived with these feelings every day of my life for more than 30 years. I remember feeling depressed, anxious, fearful, hurting, hopeless, unloved, rejected, and distraught for as far back as I can remember. But one by one, God set me free from all that. Do I ever feel any of these emotions anymore? Yes, some of them, but not all. I don’t feel rejected or unloved anymore because I am accepted and loved by God. I can feel depressed when depressing things happen, and anxious or fearful about scary things that happen around me, but I don’t live there. I take those feelings to God, and He sets me free from them.

If I can get free of negative emotions, you can too. It is never too late to be liberated. Being set free doesn’t mean you will never have another problem or that you will never feel fearful, depressed, or anxious again. But when upsetting things happen, these things do not control your life.

In order to get free of negative emotions, you have to take charge and say, “I am not going to live my life in pain and brokenness. God has given me a way out, and I am going to take it. I am determined to stop all wrong thinking.” Achieving freedom from emotional pain happens as you take a step at a time with the Lord and He helps you to change habits of thought, feeling, and action.

The balm of Gilead mentioned in the Bible was a substance known in that area at the time for its healing qualities. The prophet Jeremiah asked God, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?” (Jeremiah 8:22 NIV).

We often ask God the same question. “Why do I still hurt, God?” “Why can’t I get free?” “How much longer must I live with depression and sadness?” “Why can’t I get rid of this horrible fear and anxiety?” “Why have You not healed me?”

Sometimes the answer to those questions can be the same as what God told Jeremiah. He answered Jeremiah saying,” “They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:3 NIV).

When you allow any sin a place in your heart, you are not obeying God. And you won’t be able to find the freedom, healing, and restoration you desire. It’s there for you, but you have to do your part and confess all sin and acknowledge your dependence on God for everything. “O my soul, you have said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from You'” (Psalm 16:2).

How Do I Get Free of Negative Emotions?

We all need to know how to not just have a good day now and then, but how to find total emotional healing and restoration. We must understand how to fill our empty and lonely places with something other than that which will ultimately leave us more empty and lonely than before. We grow weary of battling depression, anxiety, fear, anger, feelings of rejection and failure, and thoughts that we haven’t done enough or we’ve done the wrong thing. We are exhausted by unrelenting self- criticism, shame, confusion, and a chronic lack of fulfillment. God says of these things, “Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs” (Isaiah 61:7). This double honor illustrates the way God is. He not only restores but also gives us far beyond what we hope.

My mother often referred to me with profanity I cannot repeat. I realized many years later that was part of her mental illness. Being locked in a closet contributed to the countless negative emotions I

dealt with every day. I don’t remember being locked up as a specific punishment for something I’d done; it was more that she didn’t want me around. She used to say, “Stay in there until I can stand to see your face.”

In later years, when there was no longer a physical closet, I lived in an emotional closet—locked up by the pain and fear in my heart and soul. When I was in my twenties, I tried anything I thought would help me get free of these negative emotions that paralyzed me— alcohol, drugs, occult practices, Eastern religions, and bad relationships. It was all in an attempt to find a way out of my pain and see a reason to live. When I received Jesus, that ended my search for an eternal future and a sense of purpose, but it was just the beginning of finding wholeness.

Gradually, my understanding of who God made me to be, and what I was called to do, became clearer. I developed a sense of peace about where I was in my life, and I had hope about my future—two realizations that had previously eluded me. The three most important steps I took in order to get free of negative emotions were to put God first, fortify myself with God’s Word, and pray about everything. You can do this too.

1. Put God first in every way. Make a decision to put God first in every area of your life. That means even putting Him before your feelings. Say, “Lord, I will serve You and not my emotions.”
2. Fortify yourself with the Word of God. You need all the nourishment, rejuvenation, and healing God’s Word can give you. “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul” (Psalm 19:7 NIV). Determine to line your thoughts and emotions up with God’s Word. Say, “Lord, what You say in Your Word has a greater influence in my heart than my own feelings.”
3. Pray about everything. Don’t entertain negative emotions as if they are old friends who have arrived as house guests. They don’t have a right to be part of your life anymore. Tell God about each one and ask Him to set you free. The Bible says, “Be anxious for

nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Say, “Lord, I refuse to give place to negative emotions, so I pray You will take them away. Thank You for protecting my heart and mind, and giving me peace in the process.”

If you have struggled with negative emotions, know that God has freedom, healing, and restoration for you. This is a new day and a new beginning, and He is a God of redemption. My journey from bondage to freedom, brokenness to wholeness, and failure to true success didn’t happen overnight. It happened step by step. It took 14 years from the time I received the Lord until I was free of emotional pain. I am still on the path of becoming more and more whole because it is a lifelong process. Wrong habits of feeling, acting, or thinking take time to change.

I pray this process happens more quickly for you. But if it doesn’t, keep walking toward the wholeness God has for you. Keep saying, “The Lord restores my soul and leads me on the right path” (Psalm 23:3). Walking on any other path in any other direction is a waste of your time and your life.

Prayer Power

Lord, today I refuse all depression, anxiety, fear, dread, anger, and sadness, for I know they are not from You. By the power of Your Holy Spirit I resist the temptation to see the bad in life, and I ask You to open my eyes to the good. Enable me to sense Your presence at all times, no matter what is happening. My life is in Your hands, and Your love sustains me. May Your joy rise in my heart so fully that it crowds out all that is not of You.

I pray You would evaporate any heaviness in me. Enable me to breathe the fresh air of Your Spirit blowing the dark clouds away. I look to You and not to my problems or the things that aren’t perfect in my life. Help me to see anything I dread as a challenge I can rise above, because You enable me.

Thank You that I don’t have to live in darkness because You are my light (John 12:46). You have brought me out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke my chains of bondage (Psalm 107:14). You have delivered me from darkness and brought me into Your kingdom and Your love (Colossians 1:13). Because You are my salvation, I don’t have to be afraid (Psalm 27:1). I can call to You and You will save me (Psalm 107:13).

Help me to worship You often. Set me free from all negative emotions that have become a habit. Give me a garment of praise to take away the spirit of heaviness. In Your presence I find fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).

In Jesus’ name I pray.

Word Power

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. Psalm 34:22

“I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 30:17

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has
anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.. .to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit

of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:1-3

In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul.
Psalm 138:3

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3