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
Meditating on heaven’s perspective. Specifically, Ps119. Its so full of the Word one-liners that trump anxiety & fear.
It brings clarity and refreshing , reminds me of God’s laigh in hravenly perspective. It brings Regeneration and renewal.
I re-write my goals every evening just before going to bed. Then I plan the next day. This way my schedule is filled with items working toward my goals and mind works on my schedule and my goals while I sleep. The first thing I do when I wake is praise God then I start my day.
Thank you so much Lance for your helpful comments! I found that speaking positively affects every aspect of my life for good….Jesus said, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” (Matt. 15v11) and “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” (1 Peter 3v9-10). I realised that ‘speaking deceit’ includes confessing anything that does not line up with the Truth. So I watch what I say about myself and others! I think Kat Kerr recently said that angels surf on the river of life of words that are in agreement with God, so the enemy can therefore only surf on the words that are not in agreement with God! Let’s not give the latter a chance! God is so amazing anyway that he can overrule anything we’ve said or had said against us and others if we give him that permission. Let our speech be as it would be in heaven 🙂 so our lives will follow suit! X
I have studied, and as a Christian Counselor, taught Dr. Carolyn Leaf’s book “Switch On Your Brain.” It is a process of how to change negative thinking into positive thinking, using God’s Word and principles. Journaling is a large part of this teaching…
Also, our words have great power. Speak positive words, and it will be as you say.
One of my favorite passages of scripture is Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and mind as you live in Christ Jesus.”
In other words, if we are thankful, and give God thanks always, and ask for what we need, we will have peace. Isn’t that what we all want and need?
Great post and comments. I use the voice memo feature on my iPhone to journal. I subscribe to other motivational Christian blogs and I mentor others so I can learn different perspectives.
Joyce Meters calls it stinking thinking and I start Thanking GOD for all my Blessings and listening to Worship music
Daily Scripture. Prayer first thing (even if I just stay and lay in bed. And a very powerful tool I have promoted and coached many people to use to help them keep their lives organized is Trello (www.trello.com). It’s free, and if you apply the principles of Kanban through it, you will truly find your life becoming less stressful as you will see your tasks and goals and daily “to dos” in much more effective ways.
Very encouraging word, Lance!! Thank you so much?. I’m going to use the tool you suggested. Recently I have been lead to do a 21 day journal process of thanking God for who He made me to be and what He likes about me (Philemon 1:6 ” That the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus”) to combat the self-condemnation and negative thoughts that have been sabotaging me from moving forward. In the process I’m receiving all this input on the mind that’s been changing what I’m thinking and I’m much closer to living the life I know Gods called me to live.
Hallelujah!! And thanks for all the encouraging words from each persons comments above…feels like I’ve had “real church” today and a wonderful way to start celebrating Mother’s Day?
Since a lot of my quiet personal time is when I am driving I have found that the app on my phone that allows me to speak and record notes is great. Every few days I download them to my computer for a digital journal.
This is a little mundane but I’ve been umming and aahhing about whether to get a paper journal or use my phone – but I think using a paper journal is maybe the way to go.
I love the way you talked about sacred moments.
Yes I think that’s where it’s at. Being faithful with recording these experiences.