Negative thoughts, we all have them from time to time.
Sometimes they come in quickly like an express train that is 10 minutes delayed
and other times they linger like Baptist church people after service is over.
They are the thoughts that can speak to the core of your soul and make it
difficult to discern the truth from the lies. Negative thoughts like: I’m not
good enough or I’m too much of this or too much of that. Whatever the thoughts
may be for you, you can get past them.
One thing about a negative thought is that they rarely show
up out of nowhere but rather they been planted some time ago and over time,
they’ve been watered by life’s experiences and our beliefs about ourselves. We
can almost look at them as seeds that have been planted in our psyche over time,
buried beneath and then they grow. I equate negative thoughts to squatters. You
know squatters right? The people who take up residence in a property they don’t
own.
True
story:
Shortly after my father passed away we were left with the
task of cleaning out a property that he owned. There were people living in
there paying rent to one woman who was living in the house also. She was
collecting rent and pocketing cash on a property she didn’t own (yeah Baltimore
off da chain!). Long story short, we asked her to leave and she refused. We
called the police and much to my surprise they sided with her! We had to go
through the courts because apparently squatters have rights! I’ll never forget
the day we came to the house when they were actually evicted. Even with the
notice on the door they still didn’t believe they were about to be evicted. When
we arrived with law enforcement deez fools were cooking breakfast – I can remember
the stench of the pork bacon frying on the stove; I didn’t eat bacon for like 3
months after that! The whole ordeal was a complete hot mess!
Just like this woman became a squatter in my father’s
property, negative thoughts can squat in our minds, hearts, and spirit. They
linger there, hangout, cook up bad smelling breakfast and fully take up
residence in a property they don’t own! Glory be to God that the eviction process
is not that extensive for the believer and the ‘negative thought squatters’ don’t
have rights! The God we serve is the property owner, the law enforcement, the judge
and the jury and He can evict them for good! Just hand those thoughts over to
Him – relinquish control!
How? Fill your mind with God’s Word! Light and dark can’t
co-exists, when light moves in darkness has to exit stage left! God talks about
the mind a lot because He knows that it is one of the main weapons in the enemy’s
arsenal: to attack the mind. Whether it is to send discouragement, depression, or
low self-esteem our way, all of these things start in our minds. That’s why God
says to “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus’ (Phil 2:5)
because He knows that’s where the spiritual warfare takes place. So as it
relates to the mind focus on these three things:
- Allow the peace of God to overtake you for a guarded mind in God – Phil 4:6-7, stay in prayer and let your mind and heart be filled with God’s peace. Satan sends distractions and disruptions that cause us anxiety in our minds and spirits. Allow yourself to be filled with God’s peace which will guard your mind from negative thought squatters!
- Allow yourself to be a living sacrifice for a renewed mind in God – Romans 12:2, keep God’s Word and His Ways front and center in your life. This is the only way to be transformed! Allow God to saturate you so that you can be renewed in Him. Negative thoughts can’t squat in a renewed mind, they may come to visit but they will quickly leave because the environment is not conducive for their lifestyle!
- Allow yourself to meditate on God’s Word for a refreshed mind in God – Phil 4:8, you have to make the conscious decision to meditate/think on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report because this is what will keep the negative thought squatters from taking up residence. Get rid of the “stinkin’ thinkin’”!
Begin to think differently, this will in turn enable you to
move differently. Allow God to evict the negative thought squatters so that you
can operate fully in Him!
