Three Thoughts for the Thinker

Joyce Meyer once said, "Your thoughts form your behavior." And she's right. No matter how much we try to bottle them up, they come out. They have the power to destroy us, our relationships and those around us, if we aren't proactive.

I am an obsessive thinker, so this is a topic that I spend a lot of time on. I struggle with the many thoughts that swarm my head and have on more than one occasion believed the wrong ones to be true. For years, I believed I was stuck being the slave to my thoughts - I think it, thus I am trapped to it. But thinking thoughts isn't exactly the problem. The problem occurs when we dwell or act on those thoughts, and this is something we can control.

The past year of my life has brought me to terms with my biggest problem - my thinking. Once I began surrendering my thoughts to God's Word, He started revealing the flaws in my thinking and replacing them with these things. I don't think I am the only one who needs them, so I want to share them with you. I encourage you to say them to yourself as you read them. Say them every time you struggle with opposing thoughts. There is no better way to battle bad thoughts than to replace them with good ones.

1. I am loved by God, the most important person ever. He is far more capable of love than any one of us. Real, healthy and godly love would not and does not exist without Him. If He is not the center in my heart and relationships, I am unable to love. Healing is impossible without godly love. His love,  even if it's all I have, is enough. His love is heals. And it never changes because it's based on who He is, not what I do.
Look it up: Matthew 6: 26, I John 3: 1, Romans 8:37-39, John 3:16, I John 4:8

2. I am never really alone because God is always near. He promised never to leave or forsake His own and He honors His word regardless of what my emotions say. I may not always feel His presence but as a believer, I am guaranteed it. He talks to me and He listens. Nothing I tell him can drive him away. He even understands my pain because He suffered too. His presence is more fulfilling than any other, and is enough to fulfill me like no other.
Look it up: Exodus 33:14, Jeremiah 29:13, 2 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Corinthians 4:16-17, I John 4:4, Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10

3. He makes all things work in my best interest even when I can't see it. He is the ultimate planner and knows what is best for me. Nothing that happens can stop Him from doing right by me. He knows what's best for me far better than I ever could. My circumstances never reflect powerlessness on His behalf, but His real glory. But I can't see if I don't intentionally look at it through lenses of faith. It all comes down to taking Him at His word.
Look it up: Jeremiah 29:11, Leviticus 26:13, Psalm 37:23-24, Romans 8:28

We learn early in life not to trust others with our thoughts because we live in a culture that is afraid to be real. We're so hard on one another. But we need to know that we don't have to let our thoughts rule us and we don't have to hide in the dark. We believers can have victory over this stuff if we have the faith to pursue it before our thoughts destroy us.

Fight the good fight and finish the race, my dear friends. Don't let this world make you forget how big your God is. We're just passing through.