Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts

by Jennie Allen

The apostle Paul understood the war that takes place in our thoughts, how our circumstances and imaginations can become weapons that undermine our faith and hope. The Bible records his bold declaration that we are to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

we can change our thinking. The Bible tells us so. “Do not be conformed to this world,” one verse says, “but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

there are three kinds of pits: the kind we jump into, the kind we accidentally slip into, and the kind we’re thrown into.

Paul, a verse we touched on briefly earlier. “Do not be conformed to this world,” he said in Romans 12:2, “but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, you have the power of God in you to choose! You are no longer a slave to passions, to lusts, to strongholds, to sin of any kind. You have a God-given, God-empowered, God-redeemed ability to choose what you think about. You have a choice regarding where you focus your energy. You have a choice regarding what you live for. I have a choice.

We are not subject to our behaviors, genes, or circumstances. We are not subject to our passions, lusts, or emotions. We are not subject to our thoughts. We have a choice because we are conquerors who possess weapons to destroy strongholds.

Romans 8:5 Paul said that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” and that “those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

in 1859 Samuel Smiles wrote a book that was titled, fittingly, Self-Help. You may recognize the famous maxim Smiles included: “Heaven helps those who help themselves.”

The Bible says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

The truth is that the God who is creator and sovereign over the universe and the God who conquered sin and death is the same God who wants to be with you in your pain, doubt, shame, and other circumstances.

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

“When we take time to listen to what God has to say to us,” wrote Bible teacher Charles Stanley, “we will see how much He loves us and wants to help us through every situation in life. He gives us the confidence to live extraordinary lives in the power of His Spirit and grace.”

Connection with God is the foundation for every other God-given tool we have to fight with. We begin here because if supernatural change is what we want, we have to go to our supernatural God to find it.

we can cognitively reframe our situations with the new pattern looking like this: [Negative emotion], and [reason], so I will [choice].16 I’m upset, and I was passed over, so I will choose to remember that God has not forgotten me. I’m angry, and she was rude, so I will choose to meditate on God’s kindness toward me. I’m overwhelmed, and I have too much to do, so I will pause and choose to thank God for existing outside the boundaries of time and for empowering me to accomplish only that which I need to do. I’m stressed, and I’m fearful about my finances, so I will choose to pray instead of fear.