Changing Your Mind

What you think affects you. And it shows. Can’t you tell when someone is angry or sad or happy? You may feel, “My thought life is personal; I can think what I want, and it doesn’t hurt anybody else.” But Proverbs 23:7 says, “As he thinketh in his heart so is he.” God wants to renew our minds by changing our old negative patterns of thinking, into new Christ-like ones.

Once we recognize a negative thought pattern (also referred to as a stronghold), how do we get rid of it? First we must stop it as soon as it comes to mind. Just say, “I refuse to think that thought.” It gets easier to stop them with practice, but it is not enough to stop the negative thinking. We must renew our minds by filling them with the truth of God’s Word. This will be a source of strength and healthy thinking.

Here is an exercise to help you. Take a sheet of paper and make three columns. Title the first one false, the next one true and the last one scripture. Jot down some of the negative thoughts that seem to dominate your thinking. Put them in the false column. In the truth column write the true thoughts that contradict the false ones, then look up scripture that proves them and write them down. It is good to memorize them, because it will help you combat your negative thinking. Memorizing scripture fills our minds with positive and true things to dwell on instead of the other stuff. This will change the old way of thinking into thought patterns that are pleasant and uplifting.

*Excerpt from the book “A Fine Weaving” by Cala Williams

Scriptures to Ponder:

Proverbs 5:13; Daniel 5:6; Isaiah 3:9; Romans 12:2;Psalm 51:6