3 Habits To Insulate Your Thought Life from Negative Thinking
I have an idea that I think will really stimulate your thinking. What if we could pre-play the future that God wants to manifest rather than replaying the moments when things didn’t work out?
One of the defining pieces of armor in the Christian arsenal is the “helmet of salvation.” “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17) This helmet has a few key characteristics. Its primary purpose is to protect your mind—your thought life. Satan has a mind and so do the minions of malicious spirits that do his bidding. Their task is to penetrate your thought life. The helmet is referred to as a helmet of “hope” in 1 Thessalonians 5:1. This could be described as the supernatural ability to keep a tightly insulated thought life against all intruding toxic thoughts and faith-robbing negativity.
Individuals who keep their helmets firm have trained themselves to avoid self-sabotaging self-talk as they partner with God in His plans and promises for their present and future.
What are some ways you can prevent self-sabotage?
- Record. You would be surprised at how many sacred moments occur in a 24-hour period. You will discover the significance of these experiences by making it a habit to review them at the end of the day. I have a journal that I carry everywhere. I encourage you to get a journal and take time to record these daily miracles as reference experiences for when you’re encountering a new challenge. Too frequently, we miss those God-moments that, whether they seem large or small, are truly sensational.
- Rehearse. Remind yourself of who God is. Look upon the whole of your life and one word about God will stand out—His faithfulness! Replay every victory you’ve ever had before you make a critical decision. Do this on purpose because if you’re not careful, without a helmet to intercept them, you’ll start replaying the tape of what has gone wrong in the past. If you yield to negative thinking you’ll focus on what went wrong. This will sabotage the results you want to see.
- Pre-play. The brain is a fascinating thing. Under the helmet of hope, you actually can protect your thoughts from self-sabotaging by pre-playing what God wants to do in the future. This is possible by loading up your thought life with times when things went brilliantly. Your imagination is a tool given by God. Use it to rehearse what you believe God wants to do. Mental rehearsal is the discipline of Olympic champions and miracle workers alike. Keep a visual image of what you’re aiming for—the outcome the Bible promises. Do this and watch what happens.
Question: I’m always looking to discover new tools. What are some daily habits you employ to stay positive and focused in your life? Comment below
As One!
Lance
Daily prayer and bible reading. Ongoing prayer with the Lord during the day. Remembering His promises to me and being mindful Of what comes out of my mouth.
Worship always changes everything.
Get emails like yours, read the word, push away neg thoughts, pray in the spirit, praise. Some days are more intense so it is a challenge sometimes. I recognize the things that steal my energy and joy
I didn’t always recognize that but I am getting better at it. Thank you for your emails and how God leads you. Blessings, Holly
I set a reminder in my phone to go off at the same time everyday. The reminder is a statement of who I need to be to go where I’m going. I try to read/declare it out loud every day. If I’m in public I tell it to myself silently. I got the idea during one of your meetings. #heartlandchurchankeny #bethlolson
Good way to express the thought of what we often miss with all the demands, voices giving any manner of, be here, do that, solve this, what do you think, what stratagise should be used, by whom where, why. when. what is the cost, where is the funds., what was said,, why, that hurt, why, so many questions come in the day, thank God for his grace in our lives. Not by powe, or by might, by His Spirt says the Lord.
Taking the onus off of us and putting more on God is what I get from your reply.
I am testing out if my reply
actually can be read by others without facebook.
Last week i wasted time trying to send a long thank u reply to another ministry and found out after it didn t go through without facebook…
Getting more proficient with the means of communication one is using can spare unnecessary frustration or stepping back to something simpler when frustration has mounted.
Leaning on Holy Spirit more and less on our ability has to be about the best way to simplify I know of.
I am leaning on His promise that His yoke is easy and burden is light….
Learning to recognize self imposed obligation rather than God’s and let it go…
Seems to be an ongoing art to perfect.
My wife and I get together every evening to share our journals from our personal prayer times. Our journals include scripture, our personal thoughts and prayers, as well as prophetic words we receive from God. They might also include words we have read during the day on Elijah List, etc. We also pray over our shared hopes and promises that God has given us for our futures. We have done this for the last year and find this is the best answer for staying in unity and knowing where the other one is emotionally and spiritually. We are amazed at the times God is speaking to us about the exact same area and he gives us parallel scriptures to ponder. As a husband, I find it freeing to share my inner most thoughts with my bride of nearly 44 years. I look forward to these evening pray and share times.
Awesome and truly helpful message. I consciously choose to laugh out loud as much as possible, I have found that this lowers anxiety levels and allows me to focus. Singing to Pappa God also helps huuugely 🙂
Many years ago, God was dealing with me about this subject of mind/ Thought control. One day I was listening to a teaching on the power of fasting and it implied that it affected your ability to focus. I really did not want to fast so I asked God if I needed to – he said Yes, but you don’t need to fast food, you need to fast – vein, useless, negative, Thinking. Over time this was confirmed to me again and again and I ask for his help. It turned out that some of your suggestions were part of what I have done. In addition, I have taken great faith that I have the Mind of Christ so I can expect to think positive, creative, and in line with his will and word. But of course it takes discipline, and a constant awareness of the character, source, and nature of your thoughts. After a number of years It has now become automatic, and I am almost always aware when Vain [thoughts that are about self– pride ego etc.]; Useless [those wandering thoughts or judgmental analysis that we do on people and circumstances that will mean nothing even if we figure them out]; Negative [this includes fearful, anxious, and just generally pessimistic thinking]. I shortly discovered in the early days that these represented 80 to 90% of my thinking. I have finally gotten that down to about 30%. It’s a battle and will take Holy Spirit help and transformation. The battle truly is in the mind, but we can win with the power of choice, and Intentional awareness. Then say and believe that you have the mind of Christ, and rethink the wrong thoughts with what you believe the mind of Christ would think.
I love the idea of intentional awareness mentioned in the previous reply. Taking steps to do a daily brain detox on
one toxic thought at a time is my newest approach to clearing my mind of negative, useless thinking. I believe
strongly in the spiritual law that there can never be a void….so in order to get rid of the negative, I know that I need
to intentionally have a lot of positive input to replace it…like imagining what God wants to do in my future. I also
like to use EFT or energy tapping to release negative emotions at a deeper level and then replace them with the
truth. We are definitely going against the grain…but it is such God honoring work!!! Thanks for your input!!!
Love both these insights; thank you, Beth Sturges and Gary L! Going through a similar process in recent months (couple years), but I truly do see Holy Spirit transforming my thinking! Thank you, Bro. Wallnau, for your inspiration!
Hi Lance!
Timing of this was divinely impeccable.. Or is that impeccably divine?! ?
Well either way the answer to your question actually lies in how I received this which was through social media (Twitter).. Came literally in the midst of a morning full of fighting negative thoughts..
• Social Media is what I’ve used primarily..
• Technology – I have my bible app on my phone that I’ll use also.
• Journaling
I also journal although I’ve missed the past few days though and need to catch up.. I know you’ve mentioned journaling but didn’t realize you do it everyday! Cool! (I see others have commented doing the same as well)..
• Creative
Sometimes I’ll use a creative outlet – I’ll use a daily verse (or something I’ve bookmarked) and create a meme from it in one of my apps, write whatever comes to mind and then post on my IG account.. Something about that whole process makes it stick better for me..
Just writing all of this makes me feel better because I realize I am doing something, and even though I was struggling earlier, I’m not now (I used to stay in a “funk” over things for days-weeks on end!).. I just need to continue doing it..
Thanks Lance for the encouragement via email (& sending via Twitter! ????).
I repent as a strategy; get daily Biblical info from each of the five fold ministries; engage the [world] around me; look for people that God highlights to me who are 7M types to see how I can either help, promote or emulate. I pray for my region daily. I look for His return.
I have a strong latte & shout Philippians 4:8. ☕️
Thank you so much for this post Lance. I have been really struggling with negative thinking. I know I’ve had evil telling me my business will not prosper and I will be homeless. I’ve learned that when demons come at you like this, it’s because God says the opposite! Even though I know this, I’ve really started to believe it. It has affected my health and my motivation. This has so helped me today.
God bless you!