Day 101: You Are What You Think

One of the greatest cliche's of our time says that “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” As I sat in church today, I realized that sometimes a mind is a terrible thing to have, if it's not "had" in a right way...if that makes any sense. As I have listened to the teachings on anxiety and depression that my church has been going through, it's surprised me how much I have forgotten how powerful the mind is, and how radical our thought lives may be.

I say that sometimes a mind may be a terrible thing to have because it can enslave us. If we are not careful, our thoughts can consume our lives, and we become strangers to our own being. We become numb, if you will, to what we really want out of life, all because our minds and thoughts are taken captive by something destructive.

At the heart of anxiety and depression are thoughts. And, although it sounds so simple and straightforward (because it is), when I heard this at church today, I was honestly taken aback. John Mark noted that, basically, we become what we think. To put it another way, how we think influences how we feel. Our thoughts shape and determine our lives and the way that we live them.

As they said back in the day, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

And isn't this so true? Recently, my mind has been caught up in all sorts of what-if scenarios. I've questioned where God has me in life, and then when He shows up to take me somewhere, I question if He's right. Instead of focusing on His thoughts, His words, I allow my mind to fill all empty space within it with doubt and worry.

With anxiety. With depression.

And this can happen with anything. I have friends who fill their thoughts with their past, or things they have down wrong. They wallow, and let these thoughts steal joy from them outright. And still, other friends let a broken heart invade their thoughts. The pervasive lies that they are not good enough, or that they did something wrong which caused everything to go wrong, are alive and well in their minds and so shape how they live.

We are bitter, somber, sad, depressed, anxious. And yet we wonder why we are like this.

We are like this because we think in this way. We think about our struggles, so it makes sense that we continue to live them out and wallow in them.

In the first passage we read, we see Paul, who is no stranger to being downcast. Paul, so venerated for his devotion to Christ even while riddled with chains, knows what it is to struggle, yet he encourages us to look beyond our struggles to see the sacrifice that is required of all of us:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

Here, Paul shows us how to think and live in a different way. Instead of focusing on our struggles, he tells us to live as sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. Can you imagine doing this? How different would your life be if you constantly thought about sacrificing all you are to God? And he doesn't just say to do this for no reason, but because it is an act of worship.

So often we forget what worship really is. Worship is sacrifice; these two concepts are synonymous. Often, we think that worship means singing songs, when in fact it means to come before God and offer something.

If you're not offering or sacrificing, you are not worshipping. And when we think on things that are negative, and lies fed to us, we are not worshipping God, and that is no good.

He then goes on to tell us not to conform to the pattern of this world (not the entire world, just the culture that is set up against God), but to be transformed by renewing our minds!

How we think has a vital impact on following Jesus. If we allow Him to renew our minds, we can be transformed. But, if we don't, we will remain stagnant...not moving, or following Jesus anywhere.

If we want to change how we live, we have to change how we think!

After discussing this passage, we moved on to 2 Corinthians. Both letters to the Corinthians are favorites of mine in the NT. They are written in a way to convey such conviction, but also great hope. Our discussion centered around our thoughts and how we need to align them with the knowledge of God:

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Cor. 10:3-5

Here, it describes how although we live in the world, we are not fighting with what the world has. Instead, we have God's power which is strong enough to overcome and demolish strongholds (places in our lives where the enemy, such as satan, the world system, or the flesh, have taken over). We have this divine power, in the spirit, and we need to realize that this is exercised when we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

And, I say it again: We demolish strongholds when we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

This is where I felt the most conviction. When I am left to my thoughts, I do not take them captive in order to make them obedient. I let them run wild, like selfish and feral children. I let my mind wander about plans for my future, ill thoughts towards other, and so many other thoughts unbecoming of a woman seeks to search for the heart of God.

I let myself live in a fantasy of what I want, what I think I deserve, and what I hope is coming to me.

It may be the saddest place in the world.

Thank God that I don't have to think that way.

We have the power, through Jesus, to decide what we are going to think about. God is with us, through everything, through our thoughts about anything-and-everything-terrible-and-unholy-under-the-sun, and He will help us.

We need to lean into the spirit for self-control, and move on from thoughts that keep us enslaved.

We need to live in what God has for us, instead of what our mind creates for us.

So, I say it again: take every thought captive AND make it obedient to Christ!

And the last passage we went over was Philippians 4:4-7 which focuses on rejoicing in the Lord:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Here we centered around the idea of simply turning anxieties into prayers. What are you anxious about? What is worrying you? Turn these thoughts into prayers. Come before God, in thanksgiving and present your requests, needs, worries, anxieties, to Him!

Thanksgiving is thanking God in advance for stuff that has yet to happen. Pray to Him openly and honestly and expect that He will do good things. They may not be what you want, exactly, but thank Him because you know that He hears AND answers.

Worry about nothing, pray about everything, thank God for anything.

Take every thought captive, and make it obedient to Christ.

Turn your anxieties into prayers.

Think on what is noble, good, true, praiseworthy, right, lovely, etc.

Move on from what is plaguing you, and fill your mind with God's thoughts. That is my prayer for you.

In Christ,

Lilia