Bad thinking

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, be he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26.3

 

A story

 

Another bill reads, past due, sitting at your rickety table held together with cable ties, you plop the envelope on the other past due bills. You can’t pay them all and will have to decide which one not to pay this month. You stand up, throw your hands in the air, and shout, “I’ll never get out of this hole! I’m too dumb to get a good job! My parents are broke. I didn’t have squat growing up. And I don’t have anything now!”

Nose-diving into your couch, you ruminate on not having a good job, a nice car, or house. You work yourself into an angry fit, crying into a pillow. You want a better life, but fear and bad thinking have hijacked your belief system.

You’re constantly thinking and saying terrible things about yourself, things you’d never say about someone else. You’re pessimistic, speak curses over your life, and believe if the worst can happen, it will. You continue to weep in misery, believing your life will never change.

 

A letter from God

 

My Promising Child,

When you feel like you’re not good enough, it’s because you’re thinking, ‘I’m not good enough'. Negative thinking and self-talk create feelings of false representations of my truth. The truth is, in me, you’re perfect. What I think and say about you is fact. I’m the judge, King of kings and Lord of lords. Because of your will, what you think in your heart is what you become. Your thoughts are the steering wheel of your life. Do you want to go on a pleasant, happy trip or be hijacked.

You can end up where you allow your thoughts to take you, or you can think your life into the direction you want to go. Are driving to the beautiful ocean of peace, relaxation, and reliance on me, or are you driving to the dry driving to the dry desert of negativity, scepticism, and fear?

Take the wheel of your thoughts and exit off the dirt road of negative self-talk. My highway of thinking will take you to freedom and peace, and you’ll travel places you never dreamed of.

 

A scripture

 

Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

Ephesians 4.23

 

A prayer

 

God, I tend to think of the worst-case scenario. Help me remember your promises of peace and a sound mind as I keep my mind on your good works and thoughts for me.

In Jesus’s name, Amen

 

Reflection

 

1.      What bad thoughts and negative self-talk can you eliminate from your vocabulary?¹

 

2.      Instead of the above, what positive things can you think and say?²

 

3.      You can think yourself into a good mood or a bad mood, a good situation or a bad situation. Where are you heading today? Where are your thoughts driving you?

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 19.14

 

God is hopeful and uplifting. What you think about and speak is important to him and should drive you to think and speak optimistically, especially when feeling negative. Your feelings will eventually catch up to your uplifting thoughts and words. Don’t give up. Stay consistent.

 

¹Thoughts that demean or tear you down, thoughts that disqualify you from anything good God has for you, thoughts that you don’t deserve good things. (No one does. God’s grace covers us.) Think of more and write them down. Practice removing them from your vocabulary.

 

²The exact opposite of what you would normally negatively say and think. Practice saying positive things about yourself, your family, and your life. Use Scriptures, as these are swords of the Spirit.

 

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