08/22/2020
Think Good 👏
How to Get Rid of Anxiety, Guilt, and Despair and to Finally Find Peace of Mind
Philippians 4: 6 – 7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
They say the first step toward overcoming an addiction is admitting you have a problem. With negative thoughts, the first step is also have to admit you have them and realize that you need God to help you overcome them.
One of the things researchers have found out is that 95% of our thinking happens in our subconscious mind. We all hold dear the idea that we’re captain of our own thoughts, and we’re in charge, but we are not. The memories of the past exert a huge influence over the way we interact in the present. All of us have said things we wish we hadn’t and wonder where it came from.
The Bible talks about the spiritual powers that influence our thinking and in turn our actions. Galatians 5: 15 says, “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires that are controlled by sin. For the desires that are controlled by the power of sin desire what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the power of sin. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, your not under the condemnation of the law.”
Since both the Spirit and the power of Sin influence us, it is good to ask where our thoughts are coming from. If our thinking is contrary the Fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control – we need to ask God to remove those thoughts from our mind.
We like to think we are in charge of our thinking and actions, but from a spiritual point of view, Romans 7 and 8 tell us that we’re largely driven by forces outside our control. The power of Sin and Spirit influence us. That’s why personal willpower is so ineffective – because my power is less than the power of Sin and much less than the Spirit’s.
God says, “Don’t be anxious.” He offers a plan for prayer and peace but too often our negative thoughts take control and suddenly we’re tumbling headfirst into a deep, dark well of worry. If you give the Spirit control over your mind, surrendering to His will, your thoughts will improve immediately and dramatically.
If you want to Think Good, you have to put the Spirit in charge, and if you want the Spirit in charge, you have to let it be in charge. Meditating on Scripture can help you let the Spirit be in charge of your thoughts. Every time you choose to listen to the Spirit you make it easier to choose the Spirit’s guidance again.
How do we give power to the power of Sin or the Spirit? More practically, how do we ensure that we have more Spirit-born thoughts and fewer flesh=born thoughts?
If you want to bind your heart to God by filling it with His Spirit, you’ll need to drink from the Spirit-inspired Word.
Paul says in I Cor. 2:13, “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”
Here are some ways to be filled with the Spirit through Scripture.
1. Try Mediation ~
Often in the Old Testament you’ll read about people
“meditating” on the law. All meditating means is dwelling,
considering, hanging out with a passage instead of racing
through it. For example, a person who struggles being
judgmental might mediate on Ephesians 4:29, which states: “Do
not let any unwelcome talk come out of your mouths, but only
what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen.” Through focused reflection
upon this verse, Christ’s Spirit can strengthen us.
The person struggling with unforgiveness might mediate upon
Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” As we
reflect upon the words of Scripture, we open ourselves to God’s
pouring his truth, strength, and love into our souls. Our response
to God’s love is a growing desire to live by his truth through the
strength of the Holy Spirit.
2. Ask A Question ~
Bring a question to the text and what kinds of answers you find.
“What is the main point this passage is trying to teach me?” “How
can I apply this passage to my life?”
3. Summarize the Passage in Your Own Words ~
Rewrite the passage in your own words. Compare your
translation of the Bible to The Message Bible. How would you
rewrite the passage?
4. Write It Down ~
Choose a verse that is meaningful to you or challenging to you.
Write it on an index card. Get it inside you. The next time you’re
tempted to dwell on a bad thought, respond immediately with
your verse.
To think Good Thoughts we have to stop thinking bad thought and start thinking good thought. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10: 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.”
You can’t Think Good until you see, until you shift your attention, refix your eyes, and change your perspective. Paul says in Philippians 4: 6 – 7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
If good thinking is your goal, what would it feel like to achieve it? In other words, if you were ever to really have your thought life under control, what would that look like?
Paul says, you can have peace. Don’t be anxious. Pray. Ask God for what you need. Bad things happen but we don’t have to dwell on it. Paul says, “Don’t be anxious. In other words, STOP DWELLING AT THE BAD THINGS. LOOK TO GOD.
Right before our passage, directly in front of “Don’t be anxious,” Paul writes, “The Lord is near.” When the Lord is near, what do I have to worry about?
Instead of focusing on the bad stuff that has happened remember the good things that God has given us in the past. Then ask God for what you need and thank God for what He’s given. In a tough spot, no two behaviors could be more reorienting.
Too often when we pray to God we ask for things which limit our spiritual growth because we focus on physical things rather than spiritual qualities. Ask God for patience. Ask Him for spiritual insight so you can have the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
There’s nothing wrong with venting to God. Tell God all about everything. Start the conversation but then listen as He responds to you. Pointless venting, however, doesn’t work. Rather, at some point, you need to acknowledge God’s power to lift the burdens we carry. I Corinthians 10:14 that God will not give us something that together with Him we cannot handle.
Think about what’s making you anxious. Identify what’s wrong. Be specific. Writing it down will help you get control of it. Then answer the question, “How do I want God to fix it?” You might make a list of possible ways God could answer it and then decide which one you want most, but remember that God’s ways are not always our ways.
If we’re anxious we should present our requests to God – that makes sense. But then Paul adds with thanksgiving. Why do we need to accompany the requests with a list of thank yous?
Because God wants our eyes on God. Thanksgiving reminds us, “It’s safe to look away from the problem.” Safe because, look around, God’s given us so much. He’s been with us in the past and he’s with us in the present, answering our prayers and meeting our needs. We need that reminder. It helps us let go of the problems and needs we’re holding onto so tightly. We see that in Psalm 7. After David presents his requests to God he concludes with words of thanksgiving, “I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.”
When I take the time to thank God for all He’s done, I see Him clearly. I see Him loving me and protecting me and providing for me. The Lord is near. Romans 8:37 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Make a list of things you’re thankful for. If you want a real exercise in perspective, think of a difficult, trying or sad thing you’ve had to deal with lately. What about that thing can you find to give thanks for? Is God blessing you in the middle of it? Through it? Despite it? Make a list.
FOCUS ON THE GOOD IN THE MIST OF THE BAD ~
In Philippians 4: 8, after Paul tells us about the peace that passes understanding, the peace that comes because God is close, he says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
As I consider what it takes to Think Good, I know so much of it is simply a decision to Think God, to choose to dwell on what’s positive.
It means, when elders in the church do something I don’t like, I don’t sit around complaining with others. I choose to remember the good choices they’ve made. I think of the good things the church has done and is doing.
It means, when my wife disappoints me, when she does something that hurts, I can remember who she really is and what she really means to do but can’t quite because she is human and influenced by Sin. I think of the times she’s brought me joy, the ways she’s served me, the moments we’ve shared.
It means, when I mess up or others criticize me, I have the freedom to evaluate how true the criticism is and realization that God has already forgiven me through Christ’s death on the cross. If the criticisms are valid I can build upon them and learn from them. If the criticisms are not valid I can tear them down and press on to the goal I want to accomplish.
It means, no matter what, I choose to Think, even thanking taking negative comments and turning them into building blocks.
Make a list of good, true, lovely, noble, excellent, praise-worthy thoughts about the situation you are facing. Dwelling on the good is truly transformative!
REMEMBER GOD IS IN CONTROL ~
Isaiah 55: 8 – 9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” We are not in control.
James 4: 13 – 16 says, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.” Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.” So it is, you boast in your arrogance.”
We never think of making plans for the future as wrong. And of course it’s not – if you hold those plans with open hands, allowing and expecting God to change them. But it is evil when you think you have total control of the future.
If you feel sad because your plans didn’t work out, that’s perfectly fine. But if you feel robbed, it’s because you decided something belonged to your that didn’t, because you planned “your” future as if it was yours.
Just to be clear: Nothing is yours. Your life isn’t yours. Your kids aren’t yours. And the future, even “your” future, isn’t yours. It’s God’s.
So when you say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city,” and you say it with the confidence of a person who thinks what she thinks is what will be, you saying and thinking you are in control of the future. The truth is you have no idea what the future will be.
Maybe you’re thinking this is depressing or makes you feel helpless. It’s not. You simply have transform your thinking by acknowledging that God is really in control.
You can’t control the future. The quicker you realize this, the quicker you’re able to stop trying so hard and start trusting God with the mystery of the circumstances. This perspective allows you to step out of the future, hand it over to God, and start living in the present.
“Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time. accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with him Forever in the next.”
Take Action ~
One of the best ways to protect your thoughts from worry, anxiety and fear is simply to get doing, to respond to uncertainty with action. The future is far less scary when you act in the present. There is always something you can do!
Paul says in Philippians 3: 13-14, “But this one thing I do; forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Much of the time the things we’re worried about or afraid of could be prevented if we’d simply get to work and make changes. Sitting around thinking about things doesn’t change the future by itself. Doing the things we think about does.
The next time you’re feeling anxiety about what’s coming, ask yourself: What am I worried about? What can I do?
Action can be a solution to much of your thought trouble. Action is the life raft thrown from the boat that pulls us free from the currents of compulsive bad thoughts. Just ask yourself:
What do I feel guilty about? What can I do?
Who am I offended by? What can I do?
What am I obsessing over? What can I do?
No matter your problematic thoughts. “What can I do?” is almost always a good question to ask.
Do you struggle to recognize your ability to control what happens tomorrow? If so, why do you think that is? What could you do to remind yourself God is in control?
TOO MUCH IN THE PAST ~
We tend to get caught up in the past. If you believe the best days are over, you’ll never step into the good works God still has planned for you. When the unexpected or disappointing happens it’s so tempting to try and make everything just like it was, to hold on with all your might as you see it slipping through your fingers.
The truth is that no matter how hard we try, we can’t yank the past into the present. We can mourn the loss and remember the good memories but allowing the loss to paralyze us don’t help to Think Good. When the past passes, our job is to accept and welcome the present, to trust that maybe what comes next could be as good as what came before.
If you want to Think Good, you don’t have to forget the good things that happened in the past, but you do have to live beyond them, allowing them to fuel your faith in a God who provides and leads us on to greater and greater adventures.
GUILT ~
Some say that guilt is the number one block to achieving spiritual growth because it keeps your focused on the past and prevents you from moving forward spiritually. Guilt over the past cripples the present. It causes you to run every single behavior through the filter of what you deserve. A guilty person says, “I don’t deserve to be happy. I don’t deserve healthy friendships.
Addicts are often afraid to let go of their guilt because they believe that by letting it go it excuses what they did; and if they excuse what they did then they believe they will repeat the same things that they did in the past.
Guilt is not always bad, however. Guilt can lead to repentance as Paul says in 2 Corinthians. This type of guilt leads to transformation. But guilt can also lead to toxic shame which prevent us from seeking forgiveness. When we blame ourselves over what has happened too often we exaggerate our role and forget that God is the one who is ultimately in control.
There are four lies that often accompany guilt.
You might believe God isn’t trustworthy. If you don’t believe Him when He promises forgiveness, you’re saying, essentially, “I don’t trust you with my sin.”
You might believe you’re in control. Guilt has you confused thinking both that you are one hundred percent accountable for whatever thing you did wrong and one hundred percent responsible for making it right, like somehow you can fix this mess you’ve made.
You might think you’re more important than you are. Guilt can make a person feel very important, like this bad thing they’ve done is the biggest deal of all big deals. Ultimately guilt centers around ourselves rather than keeping our eyes on God.
You might think you’re less important than you are. It’s possible you’re not thinking your sin is so special, but rather that you’re too small to be worthy of God’s attention. In the end it’s a rejection of the gift God gives you. Paul says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin
and death.”
LIVE IN THE PRESENT ~
In order to Think Good you have to live in the present. Being present means opening my eyes to what’s going on around you. Practicing seeing today looks like counting blessings – acknowledging in the moment, as they’re received, the things God’s doing. It is paying attention to the things that are important.
Second, seeing leads to praise. Living in the moment, praising God for every one of His manifestations, allows each of God’s gifts its own weight and beauty, not comparing them to other gifts He has given in the past. Praising God is simply enjoying the might and love and truth and goodness of God as he unfolds it in the moment.
Third, engage. Faith without works James says is dead. Jesus frequently tells his followers to do something, act accordingly.
Paul says in Romans 12:2 to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Changing your mind is a fundamental part of the experience of walking with God. You can’t be His and not willing to change your mind sometimes. In order to change your mind you have to be willing to allow God’s Spirit to influence you.
As we strive to be people who’re open to change, we find ourselves desperately needing one important virtue: humility.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 4: 1 -3, “As a prisoner for the Lord, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to feel the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
The world is not a safe place for new thinking or mind changing. But it could be.
Being humble means being a person who helps other people change their minds when their minds need changing. And being humble means being open to being wrong yourself. Proud people need to be right. Proud people need to look like they’re right. Humble people want to be right, too, they just understand that they might not be and that at any moment they probably aren’t right about something.
Proud people are shackled people. They don’t ask questions. They don’t benefit from the wisdom of others. They’re stuck knowing only what they know. And they’ll only know that forever.
Here are five ways to Think Good by positioning yourself to change your mind when your mind should be changed:
1. Recognize your own bias and limitations.
2. Get better at listening. People who listen are people who
grow. People who talk are people who don’t.
3. Build Relationships. If you want to be a person who’s good at
changing his mind when it’s good to change his mind, you’ll
need two types of relationships: relationships with people
who think differently than you and relationships with people
who can help you process new ideas.
4. Be Confident. True confidence is actually rooted in an
accurate understanding of who you are, not an inflated one.
Confidence comes from being assured that what you believe
in rooted in thought, study, community wisdom, and
experience. Confidence in what you believe enables you to
consider other viewpoints without feeling threatened.
