I know I haven’t been through what you are going through. But I have had things in my life that have consumed my thoughts, and brought me down. The Lord has taught me what a huge thing it is to have control of our thoughts. He knew that we would go through difficult trials, and He also knew that we would have a tendency to dwell on them, to replay things in our mind to see if we could have done anything differently. God also knows that Satan is crafty and that he will stand next to us and whisper lies into our ears. I know he does, because it has happened to me! I struggled with thoughts of fear for years and years. It trapped me and kept me from doing the things the Lord had for me. When the struggle became a war to regain control of my thoughts and shut out the enemies darts of fear, the enemy started working on my marriage. Whispering thoughts of discontentment with my mate. The final day of that battle, the final straw for me to see what was going on was the thought “Eli doesn’t really love me.” I knew in my heart that was a lie from the enemy. That night at church, Beth Moore lead a prayer on the video we were watching. She helped me to pray about the strong hold Satan had in my life over my thoughts. I felt a physical change that night! I felt that stronghold removed from my heart and mind. I started to pray this scripture, reminding God that He said He would guard my mind:
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7
He said He would guard my heart and my mind! He can do a much better job than I ever could!
So, through my journey, the Lord taught me that I have to make a choice in what I am thinking about. The neat thing is He has given us a list of things to think on, because He knows if we dwell on the rotten stuff too long it will make us mentally unhealthy. So, this list of things lived on my refrigerator for quite a while…
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Phil. 4:8.
It weird to think that if we just choose to stop thinking negatively, and choose to think on the good things we have, it helps us not to be anxious, and the peace of God will GUARD our hearts and our minds! A pastor once told me that the word used there “guard” literally means like a soldier would guard the city he lives in. If we are believers Christ lives in us, we are His city to guard and defend. Are you letting Him, by following His directions about what you need to be thinking or meditating on?
![Blog Widget by LinkWithin](http://www.linkwithin.com/pixel.png)
Every wife…well…every husband…should read this. These are the things I wish I would have know at the beginning of our marriage. These are the things you need to tell a class! ;)
What you shared here about your life really helped me. Although complete different thoughts I assume, nevertheless I have been bogged down by negative mind games from satan as well. This was encouraging to stumble across. Thank you:)
You are welcome, and thank you! I will be praying for you.