Hi friends! I wanted to talk about the power of thoughts.
The Lord says "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts" (Heb 8:10). Our hearts and minds are connected because what we think determines what we believe.
Over the past few months, I've witnessed how potent our thoughts can be.
I struggle with anxiety and OCD, and this covid season has really challenged me. Before covid, God gave me this intense desire for community, but then quarantine hit and suddenly my longing for fellowship was unfulfilled. The isolation was confusing and painful, leading me down a bleak path. I was also struggling to find an anxiety medication that worked for me. I tried a new one last month and it left me feeling depressed, shaky, and miserable. Last week I hit a low, but God is lifting me up.
Through my trials, God has taught me this: our thoughts affect our beliefs and our beliefs define us.
If I focus on how sad and lonely I feel, I will believe that all hope is lost. If I throw myself a pity party for all my problems, soon my problems will be all that I can see. If I fixate on my shaking hands and panicked thoughts, I will believe that my anxiety defines me.
If I THINK this way, I will begin to SEE myself this way. I will not be someone who FEELS lonely, I will BE alone and unloved. I will not be someone who HAS problems, I will BE broken and hopeless. I will not be someone who FEELS anxious, I will BE anxious.
Suddenly, my identity will shift and I will no longer believe that I am God's child. I will be a broken, unloved, hopeless monster, instead of the faultless, beloved, precious masterpiece that God was made me to be.
All because of my thoughts.
What we think soon becomes what we believe.
This is why Christ states "do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom 12:2). He knows how powerful and vulnerable our minds are and He commands us to "have the same mindset as Jesus" (Phil 2:5).
So I challenge you: what are you thinking and what are you believing?
And I pray that "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil 4:7)
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