Resist Negative Thoughts
Have you ever wondered why it’s almost always easier to get lost in your negative thoughts than it is to get lost in positive thoughts? Or why it is easier to doubt God’s love for you while not doubting the love we know God gives others?
We are loved by God beyond our true understanding. It says in 1 John 4:9-10: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Clearly God loves you and me so much! He not only says it, but he proved it in the biggest possible way. So, we know what God says about us and we know how much he loves us, a lot! But somehow there is still a big disconnect between the way we see God’s love towards us.
If you are like me there are a few things that you are really good at! Unfortunately, the things that I am really good at are usually the opposite of the thoughts, actions or behaviors that I should demonstrate. And it almost always starts in my mind.
Doubting God’s love starts in a very small way. Like the small crack in the windshield, left unaddressed, it will over time become a bigger issue for the vision of the driver. If we do not address our doubt of God’s love and embrace it, it can ultimately distort our vision and understanding of our value to the Creator. With this distorted view it can then warp our view and understanding on so much ultimately causing us to be bombarded with negative thoughts.
Are there ways that we can fight negative thoughts?
A great place to start is by thinking and dwelling on the truth referenced in 1 John 4 “that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” That is the starting point, believe that God loves you unconditionally weather or not you feel that way all the time. Our feelings can trick us into believing something that isn’t factual. So keeping the truth in front of our eyes is a great way to combat negative thoughts.
What else can we do to resist negative thought?
Philippians 4:8 encourages us to intentionally think on what is good! It says
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
In a world full of really fun and entertaining distractions It can be a lot of work to identify and then think about things that are right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. But like anything, without practice we can not become better at it.
Thinking negative thoughts can come easy to you and me so double down and fight those thoughts on purpose. Spend a few minutes identifying and highlighting what is good and then put that list somewhere you will see it. Think on those things while believing that you are loved by the Creator of everything. Because He does and that He has given you the grace to work on the things you aren’t great at.
- Take a minute to look at how you view God. What is one doubt you have about him?
- What is something that is distracting you from God? What can you do to control them and create more positive thinking?
