We have been talking about toxic thinking and how it damages us physically, emotionally,and mentally. God’s word is true when He says in Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
When our hearts and MINDS are lined up with God and His ways they are like a good medicine, soothing to the soul, spirit, and mind. They will pierce our brokenness, bind our negative thoughts, and heal our soul. This in turn, proven by medical research, will affect the positive growth in our minds and bodies resulting in the person that God has made us to be.
God made us perfect, in His image. He wants us to be whole and complete. But we need to line up with what are His thoughts and His ways.
Ecclesiastes 7:29 says
I have discovered only this: God made human beings for righteousness, but they seek many alternatives.
We were made to be perfect, in His way. But we have chosen other ways in life. We choose to listen and believe negative people, we choose to be fearful of things. We choose to be anxious about the future. We dwell on the “what-if’s” in life. We need to get in line with God so that God can activate what He wants done in our lives.
Today you will analyze through your wounds and toxic thoughts. Your list may be long and that is okay. Maybe some of the thoughts you can group together or maybe once you work on one or two, a few more will come off your list.
Look at it and analyze some of your negative thinking. What is causing the wounds in your mind. Here are some examples:
- Feelings of inadequacy.
- Worries that your performance in your job will not be good enough.
- An anxiety that things outside your control will undermine your efforts.
Feelings of inadequacy
Maybe as a Mom you feel that you are not qualified enough to do the job. Maybe you work outside of the home and feel inferior to those around you. You might have a volunteer position in church and you don’t feel that you can “measure up” to the expectations of your position. You need to first STOP and ask yourself these questions:
- Have you trained and educated yourself reasonably to do the job required?
- If you are a wife, have you sought out older, wiser woman to help encourage and guide you as you walk your path in life?
- If it is a job have you equipped yourself with the education necessary to do the job?
- If you are a volunteer at church, do you equip yourself daily in the word of God and study your materials to be prepared for your lesson?
If you have done all that you can, then you have done everything that you should sensible do. The rest you leave up to God. If you are still worried, then you might be setting yourself unattainably high standards for doing the job. Just look at the place God has you now, seek Him, and He will do the rest.
Worries about performance
Do you sometimes feel that you can never “measure up” to where you “think” you should be in your performance in life? Do you sometimes dwell on feelings of depression because you worry about how well you do in life? Instead of dwelling on anxiety about a job or negative feelings of self worth, ask yourself these:
- Have you planned appropriately in your day?
- Do you have all the information and resources that you need to complete a task?
- Have you cleared the time you need to get the job done and have no distractions?
- Do you have the training that a reasonable person would think is needed to do a good job?
- Have you prepared yourself, daily in the word of God?
If you haven’t done these things, then you need to do them. Do them now, stop waiting to become a good cook, start today. Start by reading and watching videos of how to do basic steps. Need to declutter your home—set up a time that you can do it, don’t wait for it to happen, set a time just like an appointment and do it!!! Feel alone and away from God?? Get in His word each and every day —no excuses!!!
Problems with issues outside your control
Are your toxic thoughts about things and issues outside of your control? Do you constantly worry and have anxiety about things that you cannot do anything about? Do you worry about other people’s reactions?
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34
We were wired originally for LOVE. God wants us to walk in truth and love. FEAR is a learned habit. We walk around fearing the “what-if’s” of life. Stop looking at things that are out of your control. You need to put your FAITH into action by trusting the Lord with ALL of your life.
Events and circumstances of life we can’t control, that is the result of everyone else’s actions. The ONLY thing we can control is how we RESPOND to them. We can’t blame biology, parents, or circumstances that’s just part of life. Those are part of other peoples positions. We can ONLY focus on what is in our life. We do that by turning to the ONLY one who can heal our negativity and transform our minds by focusing on today, the here and now—God.
If you do all that you can do in your own life and it is the BEST that you can do, then that is all that you need to know. If you perform as well as you reasonably can, and stay focused on what God has for YOU, then that is it. You cannot worry or dwell on how people respond to that. If people are fair and respond well, then great. But if people are unfair and respond negatively, then that is something out of your control. You leave that part up to God.
Look at how your toxic thinking has shaped in your own life. You can filter through them by asking these questions:
- Has this thought always been this way?
- Has it grown, as you continually add fuel to the fire by agreeing with it?
- Has your thought started out one thing and now has grown into something different and much larger?
- Is it leading to other toxic thoughts?
Answer some of these questions when focusing on your individual toxic thoughts. Just by writing down and answering them, will help you deal with your toxic thinking. You will be able to recognize your negative behavior and learn from it so you can change.
Deuteronomy 28 talks about the blessings that flow by living in obedience to God’s word. You have a choice….you can choose blessings or curses in your life. It is up to you.
We need to think on good things even if you don’t feel like it. All this process has an impact on your brain. Science proves now that what you think has a HUGE impact on how your body responds. How a brain is impacted on certain thoughts can actually cause damage to the brain. Our minds control our brains. It isn’t the other way around. The mind is powerful and we are NOT a victim of our biology. Our thoughts are the same as memory. We are commanded to bring ALL thoughts into captivity. We are DESIGNED to be aligned with God. Thoughts are real things that change the physical and chemical make up of cells. When you corrupt them by having toxic thinking they then take root in your body in the form of abnormal cells. Those abnormal cells can grow causing illness and disease. God did not plan for us to be this way. We have the power to decide what type of life we will live. A life of health or sickness.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Phillipians4:6-8
Need more detox…..keep reading on how we can heal these wounds in our minds.
