Transforming self-defeating thoughts into peace-filled and edifying thought patterns takes prayer and action. As followers of Jesus our default thing to do whenever plagued by negative thinking is to tap into God’s strength, and bring upon His feet every anxiety, fear, and self-defeating thoughts that we have.
And as we lift up to God our mental burdens, we then hold onto His words and promises so that we can transform unproductive and senseless thought patterns into helpful reflections that could push us into becoming a better person.
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7
Apart from taking time to study God’s word, a practical thing to do is have a notebook of scripture that defeats every negative thought or fear that comes to your mind. We can memorize these Bible passages and bring them to mind or recite them out loud each time we are gripped with negative thought patterns. For such a reason, St. Paul the Apostle calls God’s word the “Sword of the Spirit.”
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” Ephesians 6:16-18
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to
ponder on Ephesians 6:10-18 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Are you plagued with senseless thought patterns? How does your prayer life defeat such fearful and negative thoughts?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us your word, which we can continue to hold on to as we face self-defeating and negative thoughts. Give us the confidence and grace to hold on to these, and be strengthened in your word. Amen.