Have you ever stopped to wonder what you were thinking on all day long? There are literally thousands of thoughts that flood a person’s mind in any given 24 hour period. According to Charlie Greer “the National Science Foundation put out some very interesting statistics (…) the average person thinks about twelve thousand thoughts per day. A deeper thinker (…) puts forth fifty thousand thoughts daily.” Wow, now that is a lot of thinking!

The Bible teaches us that we become what we think on. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 AMP).  This means our thoughts are a precursor to our actions, which in turn determines the direction of our lives.  

Again, what are you thinking on all day? Do you have negative thoughts about yourself, others, or your present circumstances? Do you dwell on thoughts like:   

  • I will never overcome these problems.
  •  I will never forgive him for what he did to me.
  •  I hate myself.
  • I hate my job. The boss never sees what I am capable of doing.
  •  I never receive good breaks.
  • Those people are so dumb and stupid.
  •  I wish I was married to another person.
  •  I can’t trust God…He has let me down one too many times.  

Negative thinking will lead our lives down a wrong path and cause us to experience a miserable existence. Eventually those poisonous thoughts will steer us way off course from the very plan and purpose God has for our lives!

The Israelites were a perfect example of having wrong thinking. They refused to trust God and let Him lead them into the Promise Land because they saw themselves as grasshoppers in the eyes of their enemies! “But his fellow scouts said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people

[of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, “The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight’” (Numbers 13:31-33 AMP). They viewed themselves as inferior to the inhabitants of the land God promised to give them and refused to trust God by faith. God had already delivered them from the powerful Egyptians and was going to lead them to victory over all the nations in the Promise Land. They simply had to walk in obedience to what God told them to do. Yet, their negative thinking caused them to complain and harden their hearts to God’s instructions. Eventually, God gave them their wish and they died in the wilderness. They failed to experience the awesome plan God had in store. 

Could the same fate happen to us because of faulty thinking? How can we stop dwelling on negative thoughts and learn to embrace godly ones? 

The first step to overcoming faulty beliefs is to recognize wrong thought patterns and take them captive. The Bible says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 AMP). God has actually given us spiritual weapons to overthrow strongholds or thinking that is contrary to the Truth about God, His Word and the way He sees us. We are to demolish these damaging thoughts and replace them with the TRUTH of His Word. The Scriptures teach us to dwell on things that are good. “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NLT). When we choose to replace the lies that bombard our minds on a daily basis with the truth of God’s Word, we can begin to discern His good plan for us. In turn, we will take steps toward our destiny fulfilling the very purpose we were created! The Bible says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NLT). Understanding who God is and His plan is extremely important if we are going to accomplish the mission God has given us to do. We cannot know either of these two things until our minds are renewed. Our thinking is extremely important.  

I want to challenge you to take inventory of your thoughts over the next several days and ask God to reveal to you areas of your mind that need transformed. The Holy Spirit will help you. Don’t get discouraged if this task seems overwhelming. Rome was not built in a day and neither will the renewing of your mind. It will take time. Replace harmful thoughts with powerful truths from God’s Word like: 

  •  I am an over comer and can accomplish anything God has asked me to do with His help.
  •  I know that God loves me and is for me.
  •  God is opening doors for me at just the right time. If He wants me here in this job, then there must be something He is trying to teach me. I will trust God when life does not make sense.
  • God is pleased with who He made me!
  •  I have self-control and can resist temptation because God lives in me.
  • God has a good plan for me!
  • I can forgive people who have wronged me with His help!
  • I am forgiven.

God’s Word is full of truth to combat lies of the Enemy. I encourage you to find scriptures that deal with the lies you have believed about yourself, others or God and start meditating on them.

You can win the battle in your mind! You can succeed and fulfill your God given destiny. It all starts with your thoughts…think on good things today!