Overcoming negative thoughts
God is certain of what He wants to make out of your life: He wants you to enjoy His blessings. You’ve read verses like Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 128, Psalm 23, Ephesians 1:3, 2 Peter 1:3, and many others scattered throughout the scriptures that inform and inspire us of God’s good intentions for His people.
When we read these blessings and promises, we don’t doubt His plans. Our faith is fired up and activated. We’re excited and joyful about what good things we have coming our way. Although the word of God is true and tested, the challenge comes in the waiting.
Like most of us, on some days, I contend with the overwhelming waves of doubt, fear, and discouragement, even as a knowledgeable believer. I wish I could say it’s going to be a one-off occurrence for us as believers but that may not be totally true.
If you’re having these contentions between the promises of God and the sea of negative thoughts that stir up despair in your heart and fight the word of God, it doesn’t mean you don’t believe God; it only validates the spiritual warfare every believer experiences.
Negative thoughts have always been an obstacle to receiving God’s promises and blessings.
For the patriarchs of faith like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, there were times in their lives when it seemed like God’s word was failing. But holding on to God’s word brought them through. You must also learn to overcome discouraging thoughts with the sure word of God.
To see the manifestation of God’s promise, you must overcome negativity and prevail in faith. It’s a battle of thoughts that can make or break your reality. That’s what Paul brings to our attention in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ESV when he says,
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…
The victory that creates the blessed reality comes from conquering negative thoughts, arguments, lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God, and thoughts contradicting the word of God.
Meditating on the Word of God
We know the warfare is in the mind but how do we achieve victory? I’ll tell you one of the keys: it’s found in meditating on God’s word. Why? Because the battle happens in the mind. If you want to conquer those negative thoughts of despair, discouragement, and depression, you have to employ the word of God that puts them down. The word of God must become your mindset every single day.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV says,
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
This text announces the efficacy of God’s word to cause change physically and spiritually. But we need faith to activate these possibilities. The solution is revealed in Romans 10:17 ESV which says,
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
It takes faith to overcome and live the victorious life. Hebrews 11:1-2 ESV says,
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.
This commendation the people of old received was the victory over the vicissitudes of life. They came out on top of life; every one of them.
To get the word into your heart and spirit, meditation is the way. Proverbs 23:7 says, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Your thoughts are your reality. And if you want to win by the power of God’s word, then
His Word must become your thoughts through meditation.
In the New Testament, meditation comes from the Greek origin meleté meaning to care for, practice, or study. In the Old Testament, the meaning is similar which is to utter, speak, and imagine, as is used in Joshua 1:8 ESV,
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
There’s so much we can learn from this singular command from God to Joshua for having a prosperous life. We find meditation is the key to prosperity and good success.
Just like you and me, did you know God already promised Joshua He would be with him all the way and grant Him victory?
In Joshua 1:5, God had already said,
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.
In verse 6 again, God said to him,
Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.
Yet again, in verse 7, God still reaffirms His encouragement saying,
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
It’s incredible how many times God has to follow up on this discussion to make sure Joshua understands that tough times will come for him, just as they will for all of us who trust in God. Otherwise, why command him to be strong and courageous?
However, we must pay attention to how God didn’t stop at only commanding him to be strong and courageous but also broke down the strategy for victory to the lowest terms so Joshua could understand and we as well without controversy. The great answer is in verse 8. Let’s have a look at it again. God says,
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Backtracking a little to verse 7, we can say God warned Joshua not to give in to negative thoughts when He said, “Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.”
Remain steadfast in God’s promises to you
Turning to the right hand and left can be succumbing to tempting negative thoughts that distract us from the success and prosperity God already has planned for us.
When we meditate on His word, we take the words He has spoken and utter them. We speak those exact words over our situations and affirm our trust in the divine words. When we meditate, we care for the things that have been written in the Word more than the things around us, taking them into account every step of the way.
Meditating on God’s word means studying and practicing it. Through this, we learn to obey God’s commands, which produces the harvest of good things.
For instance, it says in Philippians 4:6-7 ESV,
Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.
You’ve got to be a practitioner of the word. For instance, when you pray, be intentional about giving thanks to God and allowing His peace to flow in your heart and mind. Do you see the heart and mind mentioned again? It’s all about the heart and mind if you must be victorious!
When you meditate on God’s word, you also imagine the great and beautiful things you have read in your heart and mind. When He says you’re blessed in the city and the field, you take that word and stretch your imagination in all the good dimensions you can think of. The word says in Isaiah 33:24, And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”, you have to imagine that level of wellness until it becomes your experience. That’s what it means to meditate. It means to focus and be consumed with what God has said rather than the negativity you physically see.
Victory with God
Beloved, God has spoken so much for our victory over the storms and trials of life. Negative thoughts will come, and testing situations will continue to surround us while we live in this world, but our preservation is in God. We must, therefore, keep our hearts focused on God’s word over the physical disasters we’re surrounded by.
God’s sovereignty comes alive when we give life to His word in diligent meditation. We must maintain the connection to divinity to shut our eyes to the things that deceitfully seem to be falling apart in our lives and have faith for a blessed life.
Only when we stay connected to God through constant meditation on His word can we truly live as overcomers and experience the “more than a conqueror life”.
You’ll also love:
9 Things God Wants You To Remember When You’re Feeling Anxious
How To Deal With Difficult People: 5 Ways Christians Should Respond to Foolish People
59 Bible Verses To Soothe Your Anxiety And Give You Strength Through The Storm (KJV)
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