January 2, 2019
Septic Thoughts: Overcoming False Beliefs (Part 1)
Below you will find an audio of the devotion being read for you, followed by the written devotion. Listen on the go, listen as you read along, or enjoy reading it without the audio. God bless!
Lost In Translation
Learning to think God-centered, Biblical, faith-filled, hopeful, pure, and true thoughts can be like learning a foreign language. It is a process that takes great dedication and determination. You have to train your brain to think about things differently. And like trying to learn a new language, the more established you are, the older you are, the harder it is to develop these new thought patters. It is often much easier (at least in the short term) to revert back to our negative, untrue, or impure thoughts. That is the way we grew up thinking. That comes naturally to us.
Learning to think God-centered, Biblical, faith-filled, hopeful, pure, and true thoughts can be like learning a foreign language. It is a process that takes great dedication and determination. You have to train your brain to think about things differently. And like trying to learn a new language, the more established you are, the older you are, the harder it is to develop these new thought patters. It is often much easier (at least in the short term) to revert back to our negative, untrue, or impure thoughts. That is the way we grew up thinking. That comes naturally to us.
Through perseverance, and the grace of God, we can all learn to think differently. We can push beyond the septic thoughts of negative thinking and false belief. On pages 39-41 of his book Soul Detox Groeschel encourages us that we don’t have to allow the following thoughts:
• “I’m no good. I’ll always fail. I’ll never amount to anything.”
• “My life doesn’t matter. No one really cares about me. If I disappeared, no one would notice, much less care.”
• “No matter how hard I try, I’ll never make a difference. It seems like I mess up everything I do.”
• “God could never love me. After all I’ve done, why would God care about me? I’m worthless.”
• “My life stinks. And it’s only going to get worse. I’ll never get a break. There’s no way I can change the way I am.”
• “I have to take care of myself. No one else, especially God, comes through for me. I better grab whatever I can whenever I get the chance.”
Any one of these thoughts can be deadly, and cumulatively they can imprison us in a hellish well of toxic waste. If we want to break free into the exhilarating freedom of God’s truth, then we must begin by accurately diagnosing our problem. As we discussed in the last chapter, you can’t overcome a sin that you can’t identify.
The root of most sins we commit outwardly is the false beliefs we embrace inwardly. In order to experience a life of purity with a clean heart, we must identify and reject the toxic thoughts that keep us from God’s best. We don’t need Dr. Phil to tell us what God revealed to us in his Word thousands of years ago: your thoughts determine who you become. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as [a person] thinks in his heart, so is he” (NKJV).
If you think negative and toxic thoughts, you’ll become a negative and sick person. Your soul will stagnate and wither. If you think God’s truth in your thoughts, you’ll become like Christ. Your soul will flow with living water and flourish. If you’re not trying to translate the negative into positive truth, if you’re not willing to focus on God’s absolutes instead of your own mental chatter, then you’ll only drift farther away from what you desire most.
Most of life’s battles are won or lost in the mind. Abraham Lincoln said, “I want to know all God’s thoughts. All the rest are just details.” Our thoughts are either focused on what’s eternal, life-changing, and true, or lost in the details of our temporary, selfish, false beliefs. If you’re a Christian, then you’re fully aware of the battle between your flesh (your earthly desires) and your spirit (your heavenly desires).
This ongoing battle between flesh and spirit is usually fought in our minds. For example, a husband doesn’t wake up one morning and decide he’s going to cheat on his wife that day. Instead it’s a gradual process of sliding away thought by thought that allows him to begin an adulterous relationship. If we want to win the physical battle, we have to control the spiritual battlefield. And Scripture makes it clear how we can control the battlefield: “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life” (Prov. 4:23 CEV).
Groeschel, Craig. Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World (pp. 39-41). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Mind Games
We are all responsible to fight the battle for our minds. The weapons we use are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Groeschel shares that Paul’s use of the word “strongholds” here could be translated as a “prisoner locked by deception.” Through faith, prayer, and God’s word, we can be set free from the prison of deception. Instead of being captives of our thoughts, we must learn, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to take our thoughts captive.
We are all responsible to fight the battle for our minds. The weapons we use are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Groeschel shares that Paul’s use of the word “strongholds” here could be translated as a “prisoner locked by deception.” Through faith, prayer, and God’s word, we can be set free from the prison of deception. Instead of being captives of our thoughts, we must learn, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to take our thoughts captive.
Groeschel identifies four areas of toxic thought that can poison our minds:
(1) pessimism, which usually produces chronically negative thoughts;
(2) anxiety, which usually manifests as fearful and worried thoughts;
(3) bitterness, which pollutes our thinking with discontented and envious thoughts; and
(4) criticism, which pumps destructive judgmental thoughts into our minds.
We will take the rest of the time today to discuss how to overcome pessimism and anxiety, and we will discuss taking bitterness and criticism captive tomorrow.
Weed Salad
Do you chronically battle negative thoughts about yourself, others, your future, your abilities, or life in general? Do you think things like, “It is not fair. I will never overcome. I will never succeed. That person will never love me. I will never have a good life. I am ugly. I don’t have any talents.”
Do you chronically battle negative thoughts about yourself, others, your future, your abilities, or life in general? Do you think things like, “It is not fair. I will never overcome. I will never succeed. That person will never love me. I will never have a good life. I am ugly. I don’t have any talents.”
Perhaps you always feel like the victim, and you think things like…”I don’t know why I am going, no one will like seeing me there. No one ever talks to me (even though we all know that conversation goes two ways). No one cares for me. No one would even notice if I took my own life. People would probably be happier without me around. They just “put up” with me to be nice.”
Do you constantly complain, even in the more mundane things in life, “I have nothing to wear. My hair won’t cooperate. I can’t believe this grocery bag ripped! Why didn’t these car manufacturers come up with a seat belt that wasn’t so uncomfortable. This food tastes nasty. I am tired of doing everything for everyone else!”
Even if there is some truth to your thoughts (all the “realists” will chime in here), it matters how you handle it. Where you plant the seed will determine if it will grow and take root in your life. If you let weeds take over the garden of your mind, they will choke out true, God-honoring thoughts. There won’t be any room for the fruit of the Spirit to grow there.
Examine your the garden of your mind often and ask God to help you weed out they things that need to be removed. God is great at pruning and removing the appropriate things, if we will take time to meditate on His word and spend time in honest, reflective prayer.
High Anxiety
Akin to negative thinking is it’s second cousin, fearful thinking. We can have legitimate reasons to be fearful. Our society and our lives are full of reasons to be afraid. We need to meditate on scriptures like Psalm 56:3 – Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. (NKJV)
Akin to negative thinking is it’s second cousin, fearful thinking. We can have legitimate reasons to be fearful. Our society and our lives are full of reasons to be afraid. We need to meditate on scriptures like Psalm 56:3 – Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you. (NKJV)
If we don’t learn to overcome these thoughts, they will steal our peace and our joy. We will be consumed with wondering if our spouse is going to leave us, or if our spouse is going to die. We will wonder if our job is going to last, or if the economy is going to crash. We will lay awake at night, plagued with fears that we will never find true love, or if a natural disaster will steal all that we have worked so hard to accumulate.
We can become so consumed with our fears that they are truly irrational and ridiculous, but we are fearful as if there is a 100% probability that it is going to happen. In fact, in those moments, we have more faith in fatal thoughts than we do in faithful thoughts.
Instead of surrendering to the many fears of our day, we can meditate on God’s goodness. We can encourage ourselves that no matter what happens, if we are in God’s hands, we will ultimately have the victory. The sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us in Heaven. We need to constantly remind ourselves that the grace of God is sufficient for us, no matter what we go through. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. It seems impossible to bear now, but if you ever have to walk through it, God will provide on-time grace that will get you through. He will come and prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies. He will never leave you nor forsake you, if you will continue to trust in Him. No weapon formed against us will prosper. We will overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony. All things are working together for our good as we surrender all things to Him. What the enemy meant for evil, God will use for my good.
Psalm 27
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
May we keep our minds focused on the promises of God’s word! When we do, we will overcome negativity and anxiety.