FROM TREVOR LUND 7 Effective Strategies To Control Your Negative Thoughts Every so often I get a reminder of different things that really tick me off. Often its around a negativity fast. Wouldnt you know, there is another reminder butt up against my garage right now. I really dont like having others expectations thrust on me. The old Well, you werent at the meeting, but we thought youd be perfect for... is a prime example. I have another example in my back alley. Some yahoo decided my garage would be the perfect place to dump his love seat. Apparently it was too much work to take it to the eco station 10 minutes away. There are trucks galore in this neighbourhood, it would have been nice if the bozo want too lazy to figure out which one of us a truck. No, he had to dump it in my back yard. Admittedly my house has trucks parked in front of it all the time - people too lazy to clean out their garage so they can park when the streets are piled with snow. Me? Do I have a Saturday in the next month to move a love seat that isnt mine to a proper dump? Id have to clean out the car, pile in everything else Ive been piling up over winter, drive the 10 minutes to the eco station, wait in line for a coffee - theres a Tims just before the eco station and who wants to go to an eco station without a chance to roll up the rim? (Canadian joke) - pay the $8 for my load of a love seat I never owed or even sat on, then clean out my vehicle and likely get a car wash... Im sure glad Christ looked past the cross to His reward. I really shouldnt be whining. Why was I... oh yah, Im going to give you 7 Effective Strategies To Control Your Negative Thoughts. I figured Id show you I know how you might be feeling. First off, you know the thoughts Christians should avoid, right? 1.Self-Condemnation Proverbs 4:23 2. Un-forgiveness Colossians 3:13 3. Being Offended at God Luke 7:23 4. Judgmental Attitudes Romans 14:4 5. Rebellion 1 Peter 2:13-17 6. Fear 2 Timothy 1:7 7. Worry Matthew 6:25-29 8. Pride Proverbs 3:7 9. Bitterness Ephesians 4:31 10. Discouragement Joshua 1:8-9 11. Feeling Overwhelmed Isaiah 43:1-2 12. Condemnation Romans 8:1 13. Anxiousness Philippians 4:6 14. Anxiety 1 Peter 5:7 How can you avoid these? Here are 7 strategies I gave in last weeks message at my church. 7 Effective Strategies To Control Your Negative Thoughts 1. Stop You are the boss, so as simple as this sounds, the first thing you can do is to send a command to yourself, say Stop (STOP!).Often a verse is great to accomplish this. Something like my grandma used - You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3 New Living Translation (NLT) Use this when you have obsessive thinking. 2. Swap You can replace a negative thought by a positive one; Keep a list of positive, happy, healthy, constructive thoughts, and swap away. For example - If youre feeling useless or unloved... Remind yourself 2 Corinthians 5:17 says... This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! Say to yourself, I am a new creation in Christ, old things have passed away and all things become new. A great tool I have for this is the personalized identity in Christ - Here it is for Men and for Women. Go to the appropriate one and print off your very own. 3. Store and Share You can store it AND this is only half of the strategy; remember, you do not want to store it, as in ignore it, you want to store it, and re-access later, by sharing it with a supportive person: a friend, a colleague, a coach, a mentor. Someone with an outside perspective, an objective one, who will help you move forward. This is why God has placed us together. Share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Galatians 6:2-3 (New Living Translation) You may need to talk to some. You dont need to fixate on those negative thoughts until you do. Push them to the side, maybe write them down. Then find someone you can trust and talk to. Your pastor may be a great person to trust for this. 4. Switch You can do something else: go for a walk, a run... exercise is a great way to deal with negative thoughts. There are so many things you can do; here you want to select an activity that you can do straight away, once the negative thought comes in. Physical training is good...1 Timothy 4:8 (New Living Translation) This isnt avoidance...well it is, but its avoiding thoughts you dont want to control you. 5. Spend time with God You can meditate on Scripture. You can put on worship music and relax. We call this shut-up and listen time Dont sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Psalm 4:4 (New Living Translation) Spend time with God and let Him change your negative thoughts. Spending time in the presence of God is something thats life changing. Joshua stayed in the tent even after Moses left. 6. Speculate First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst. So, ask, accept and proceed. But dont begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Luke 14:28 (New Living Translation) This works great for analytical people. Use it if thats you. If youve got an overactive imagination like I do, the final strategy is probably a better choice. 7. Scribe IF youre less analytical and more creative, this strategy might suit you better. You can start writing; from head to paper, write about what you are thinking to free your thinking place. Whatever is it that you are thinking as long as it stays in your head, it is a jumbo-mumbo mess, so write it down; and write it exactly as you are thinking it. Often if you can do this pen to paper, instead of on the computer its more cathartic. Keep a spiritual journal and read it often. Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets Habakkuk 2:2 (New International Version) We all have negative thoughts. We can all, like Peter did, easily have Gods revelation one minute and the next agree with the enemy. Learn to think about what you think about and train yourself to agree with Gods thoughts for you. It might take you snapping your band. It may mean you need to learn Gods thoughts for you. It may be easy for some, but usually is terribly difficult for most. The good news is God is with you, to help you. The same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is alive in you. You are able to live up to what youve already attained. You can control your thoughts.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 16:37:38 +0000
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