How to Crush Your Negative Thoughts and Experience Freedom

I’m sitting on the front-line, watching as the battle unfolds before my eyes. 

My daughter is grappling with her fear of failure yet again; my son’s in the middle of a clash, searching for the courage to stand for the right. The struggle continues, day in and day out; it never stops. 

I want to reach in and rescue them. To snatch them from the battlefield, raise them high on my shoulders and carry them to a safe place. 

I wish I could protect them from the life scars that run deep, for I know how painfully vulnerable we are. Yes, I've been there, battle-weary and scarred, an unwitting victim of my own negative thoughts.

But as much as my heart bleeds for them, I am powerless to crawl into the recesses of their minds and fight for them. This is a battle we each must fight alone. 

No, I can't rescue them, but I can teach them. Teach them to recognize the attacks, show them the weapons at their disposal, and encourage them to fight. 

I tell them it starts with cunning innocence. A random thought alights and then stays for a while. You begin to mull it over in your mind. Before long, its snowballing effects have left you defeated, discouraged, angry, resentful, entitled . . . speeding on a runaway train headed straight for destruction.  

But it doesn't have to be this way. We can jump off that train and choose another. God has designed us to observe our own thoughts, capture the bad ones and replace them with the truth.

Sadly, we misjudge the terrible danger of our irresponsible thoughts and words and all too often we lose the battle. The effects can be far-reaching, often causing a multitude of mental and physical illnesses.  Many of us trudge through life dragging behind us the paralyzing effects of our own destructive thinking.

How then can I spare my children this pain? Thanks to God, in Christ Jesus there is hope.

God has given us the power to choose. 

So, I encourage my children to choose which thoughts they allow to have lasting power in their lives. I remind them that our thoughts have tremendous power for good or bad. They can search through their minds for their 'daily round of thinking and ferret out the enemies' (Psychology Magazine 1957). They can choose to replace toxic thoughts with life-giving ones.

And when they come to the end of themselves, as we all do, powerless to resist the relentless lure of their destructive thoughts, I remind them that they do not fight alone. 

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . . . (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) 

I urge them to take up ‘the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ and fight, to destroy the lies of the enemy with repeated use of the lifesaving promises and truths of God's word. (Ephesians 6:17)

It was against this backdrop—standing alongside my children in the fight—that I joined the launch team for Transforming Your Thought Life – Christian Meditation in Focus by Sarah Geringer.

The title alone drew me in, and I knew the message would help guide my Sword-wielding.

I asked Sarah, “How can Christian meditation help someone conquer thought life problems?”

This is what she said, “Christian meditation is simply focusing on a scripture and thinking about it with intent. The more you focus on God’s Word through meditation, the more you learn about God’s will for your life. You can apply scriptural truths directly to specific thought life problems and experience freedom. For example, if you struggle with painful thoughts, you can meditate on verses about God’s comfort. By repeating these verses every time you experience a painful memory, you can begin to reroute the neural pathways in your brain. When you do this over and over, you begin to think differently because God’s truth replaces the lies planted by your enemy Satan.”

The thoughts of experiencing freedom and having God’s truth replace the lies convinced me that not only was I on the right track, but that I had found an invaluable resource in Sarah’s book.

So, digging a little deeper I asked her, “Does a transformed thought life help someone develop a closer relationship to God?”

Her answer was like a balm for the weary soul.

“When you meditate on God’s Word, you are hiding it in your heart and mind. As you learn God’s language of truth and love in Scripture, you will learn more about his character and his ways. Christian meditation helps you worship God and cultivate a closer walk with him. When you experience the freedom that comes with thought life transformation, you will realize that God deserves credit for setting you free. Scripture meditation will inspire your adoration, praise and thanksgiving to God. It has the potential to take your faith to new heights in only a few minutes every day.”

That was it. I started digging into the book, and I found it to be so relatable in the struggle, yet so inspiring and helpful as it guided me and my children in the use of scripture to transform our thought lives.

I’m sure we’re not the only ones who contend daily with unhealthy thoughts, so I’m spreading the word. If you need help in conquering your thought life and experiencing the victorious life God has promised us, then click on over and get your copy of TransformingYour Thought Life – Christian Meditation in Focus. It is available right now on Amazon. You can click here to get your copy.

Thanks, Sarah, for pointing us to the word of God and for showing us how we can experience freedom through the power of Christian meditation. I know many lives will be enriched and God will be glorified.

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Sarah Geringer writes and speaks about finding peace in God’s Word. You can follow her blog at sarahgeringer.com or find her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Goodreads. 

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How to Crush Your Negative Thoughts and Experience Freedom