the power of thought

God has really been speaking to me in the past few months about my "self talk."  What I've discovered is how powerful it is.

It all started with a Bible study lesson. I can't even remember the name of the book it came from, but I just remember that the topic of the lesson was the impact of self talk. We've all heard that if someone tells you something long enough, eventually you will believe it. And basically, that was what was happening to me. Except it wasn't someone else doing the talking...it was me talking to myself in thought. Or at least I thought it was me doing the talking.

The things I thought about on a regular basis were just flat out destructive. Not in a physical danger kind of way, but in a tearing myself down kind of way.  It affected my attitudes, my words, my moods, and even my view of myself.  And as if that wasn't enough, it also affected how I was relating to others.

But God showed me that these thoughts were not my own. They were lies straight from the pits of hell. The master of deception had found a weak spot in me. He crept in so slyly, so gradually, that I didn't even realize it had happened. Most of the time, I would catch myself in the middle of one of these thought dungeons, not even realizing I had been listening to his lies so intently.

But God didn't just show me the origin of these thoughts.  He gave me a way to combat them, too. 

I had been praying that God would show me a verse that I could claim as my very own "life verse." One that would be applicable and intensely significant to the real me. The real me that He knit together in my mother's womb. The real me that He fearfully and wonderfully made. That woman that He created as one-of-a-kind.  

Then one day - again in a Bible study - it came to me.  The verse wasn't even the focus of the lesson, but there it was, nonetheless.  It was one I had read a million times, but this time it was different. It was perfectly relevant and had significant meaning to the real me. And I instantly knew it was mine.

"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." Philipians 4:8

I can't even begin to describe the impact of this verse assignment. It was as if He had written it just for me. Honestly, it transformed me overnight...kind of like a holy extreme makeover. I am no longer captive to these lies for extended periods of time. If I find myself hanging out in one of these thought dungeons, I just meditate on my verse and am transported back to a place of refuge, safe in the arms of my Savior.

Most recently, God showed me yet another way I can use this verse to combat negative thoughts and difficult situations. It's a series of questions - related to my verse - that I ask myself to gain perspective and perhaps redirect my thinking.  (I have fondly named them the "u-turn group" :-) What is true about this thought/situation? What is noble? What is right? What is pure? What is lovely? What is admirable? If there isn't anything excellent or praiseworthy about it, I shouldn't be thinking about it in the first place.

I truly desire integrity in thought as well as deed. I am so grateful God has revealed to me the power of my mind, and that He gave me this verse for taming it.