2:15 AM
Somewhere
Someone's mind (maybe yours)
"What am I going to do? What if that job doesn't come through? How am I going to pay the rent? I should have not quit that other job. That was stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. No wonder I am alone. Who would want to be around me? What am I going to do about my weight? My clothes don't fit. I am so weak. Weak and stupid! Now that is a combination..Geez, it is after 2 AM and I am still awake. I bet I oversleep in the morning. What if I miss that interview?....."
Does this happen to you or anyone else you know? This example is Stinking Thinking on Steroids. In the "biz", we call this rumination. I explain it as how a cow chews a cud. Mentally, we chew and chew only to yak it up and chew it all over again. Sure, I have talked about worry on other posts but today, I am searching for empowerment and control.
Thoughts like I described in the beginning of this blog possess power. There is no denying that thoughts like that control a person. The thoughts control a person's rest pattern (up at 2:15 AM), control one's emotions, and eventually will control one's actions and effort. Thoughts can leave a person exhausted, bewildered, frustrated and defeated. All of this arises from thoughts conceived in your own mind. These thoughts are YOUR WORK. And some of you do not think your thoughts count or have power. Humpf, your thoughts can make or break you. Remember that.
Think of it this way: In the example above, the thoughts are holding the person hostage. In other words, those nasty, hateful thoughts are calling the shots in regards to sleep and esteem. As sleep dwindles, so does solid decision making and as decision making falls apart, so does self esteem. Then a poor self esteem builds more worries and soon you are hold on to the horse on the "merry go 'round" of worry and rumination...step right up for another free ride!!!
ENOUGH! This blog has never, and will never, apologize for its Christian base. I do not care if I ever gain more than 12 followers. (I do appreciate you guys that do read me though). Last night, at a local service, a testimony talked about taking thoughts captive. Here are 2 versions of that verse (2 Corinthians 10:5)
2 Corinthians 10:5
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
5 and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people’s thoughts and make them obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5
New International Version (NIV)
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Wow, instead of our thoughts holding us hostage, we are instructed here to take the thoughts captive and make THEM obedient to Christ. I think it was bold of Paul to put it this way. Remember, in his day, every time a nation was overtaken, the survivors became captive slaves. I would think that being held captive was a particularly frightening reality. By informing us that we had the right and obligation to take those nasty thought and put them away, Paul educates Christians then and now not to tolerate crappy thoughts any longer.
What thoughts can we hold captive? Of course we can hold those sinful thoughts captive and get them out of our thinking pattern. You know the ones I am talking about-the ones that you feel ashamed that you have but they keep coming back anyways. Paul also means any thought provided by the enemy that makes a person feel less than how God intended you to be. I have heard it said, "God does not make junk".
Earlier I told you to remember that your thoughts can make or break you. I am sure you all acknowledged times in your life where your thoughts broke you down and defeated you. But, if you agree that thoughts can BREAK you, then you must accept that thoughts can MAKE YOU. THOUGHTS CAN MAKE YOU. It is as simple as ABC--To achieive, you must believe what you conceive.
I am begging to be a big believer in affirmations. You must believe that you are unique and special. Those of you that really know me understand if I was there with you, I would reaffirm that you are special and have wonderful, God given and blessed traits. I still fall prey to the thinking at the beginning of the blog. I talk to myself in these blogs as much as I do to anyone else. So, take those nasty thoughts, lock them up and beat them down if the resist.
I believe in affirmations, and also that thoughts can make us or break us. Each morning, I rise and post something positive on FB. People think I am posting this because I am a positive individual. What they don't realize is that I am always and forever trying to convince myself that this is how I should think. It more often than not works in a most positive way. :)
ReplyDeleteGood morning! The running dialogue in my mind has often sounded similar to the beginning of this post. Especially the “stupid, stupid, stupid” stuff. I am in the process of changing that type of thinking.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, this post is very relevant for me as I was faced with a challenge yesterday where the negative committee that wishes to reside in my head felt the opportunity to jump right on in.
As I was driving in my car I began to worry about all the possible negative consequences that, in that moment, seemed to be looming just around the next corner, waiting to pounce. As my jaw began to clench, along with my knuckles on the steering wheel, I started thinking about how I could escape feeling like that.
And then this part of my brain, just kind of said STOP! And my thoughts changed. It felt odd, but good. My thoughts shifted to just accepting what was happening and that I would not revert to old behaviors and that I could do whatever it took to get through what was happening and that it would turn out as it should in the end. So instead of running to someone to tell me what to do or to food to help me feel numb, I started having a little talk with God. I handed the situation over to Him. And I left it there. And I put one foot in front of the other and kept on moving. And it was ok, really ok. I even ended up finishing my work out later that day, when I really didn’t feel like it at all.
That was one small victory in the battle that rages in my mind some days. But, I’ll take that, and be thankful, as I haven’t been able to really do that in a very long time.
Thank you once again for your insight and encouragement and sharing. It is always good to know that others experience what we may think of as only particular to us.