We recently found an article from blog site thechristianmeditator.com. The contents of the article was the perfect guide for anyone dealing with any battles of the mind, constant thoughts, or negative beliefs that are taking up space rent free. You can read excerpts from the article that stuck out the most and may help you during your journey to taking control of your thoughts. We came up with this mental exercise for uprooting the negative thoughts that already live there:
Imagine that in your mind is a huge garden. The negative thoughts and ideas are planted in the soil and need to be uprooted. Close your eyes and visualize yourself with a garden tool digging up each negative thought one by one. For each negative thought, say it in your mind, and then dig it up. Then, visualize yourself picking up the negative thought and throwing it far out of your mind never to be found again. Do this with each negative thought that is taking space there one by one until each one is gone. Now, we're sure that you are reading this article but we want you to take a moment to stop everything and do exactly what you just read, then come back and join us for more reading. ♡
Excerpts from thechristianmeditator.com....
"As a Christian, you may be unaware of how many negative thoughts we think per day about ourselves and our situations. These thoughts can affect our mental health. In this article, you will learn how to conquer these negative thoughts by using strategies such as a mental gatekeeper, to renew your mind once and for all. It’s time to win the battle over your mind.
Winning the battle of the mind is no easy thing. Just think about it! How often do you just stop thinking? Try it for one minute. Even when we’re trying to spend time with God, we’re thinking about what we need to do next. These thoughts cause us to rush through our devotional time or scripture reading. Our mind has us convinced that we’re going to miss out on something if we don’t hurry it up. But just like we need to take time to relax our bodies, if we are to have ongoing mental health and well-being, we need to spend time relaxing (and renewing) our minds as well.
If you don’t do anything about your mental garden, your mind and spirit will continue to war against each other. This is usually an unconscious pattern. For example, God’s word will tell you to give not to receive, but your mind constantly tells you to hold on to everything you’ve got. Your mind tells you to always get the last word, but God says to turn the other cheek and a soft answer calms the situation. Again, your mind tells you to work hard and strive for success, yet the Bible says, seek God’s kingdom first and everything you need will be added unto you.
If you don’t address the false thinking that contradicts God’s word, you’ll continue to be what the Bible calls “double-minded” and because we continue to waver in our desires and beliefs, we can’t receive anything from God.
Do you battle with negative thoughts or just can’t turn off the dialogue in your head? Do you find yourself having conversations with people who aren’t even there? Many people suffer from compulsive thinking, but you can learn to stop these voices in your head by creating a mental gatekeeper. A mental gatekeeper is an imaginary guard created to stop unwanted, worrisome, or crippling thoughts from gaining entrance in your mind and planting an orchard of negativity, depression, or self-doubt. It can be in the form of a guard, a bouncer, a mighty angel, or a goalie, just pick something you identify with. I like to use a batter at a baseball game because I envision the way the pitcher throws the baseball as the way negative thoughts of doubt, discouragement, fear, and every other destructive thought are thrown our way.
Now that you’ve made the decision not to worry, how do you stop negative thoughts from taking over once again? Let’s go back to gatekeeper. When wanting to stop negative thoughts right in their track of my favorite terms is the word “Bam.” When I say BAM , I see the batter slamming a baseball, or in my case, a worrisome thought right out of the field (my mind). For example, when those fiery darts come like “you’ll never…BAM “your daughter… BAM, “that house”… BAM, “you should”…BAM, “no one will ever… BAM, “your bills… BAM. I try to BAM every negative thought the enemy throws at me before he can even get it into the net!
You can also back up each rejection with a scripture that not only stops the thought, but extinguishes it. When Jesus was being tempted of the devil, he came against every suggestion of Satan by saying, “it is written…followed by scripture. So your dialogue might look something like this. “Your husband…BAM IN THE NAME OF JESUS…the scripture says, forgive as God as forgiven me. “I hate… REJECTED IN JESUS NAME…Jesus said, love your enemies and do good to those who wrongfully use you. “I can’t pay…TALK TO THE HAND…it is written, my God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory. I’m going to trust him. “I’m so”…ENTRANCE DENIED…for my God shall never leave me or forsake me and He knows what I need before I even ask. “My boss never…” ACCESS DENIED…the bible says do everything as unto the Lord.
Once you let the thought in, it’s much more difficult to get rid of it, but not impossible."