It is very important to fight negative thoughts at all times.
The process of mind renewal as Romans 12:2 teaches us is the one and only path that will lead us to God’s plan for our lives. Often we miss out on the quality of life that God promises us, that life of abundance that Jesus tells us about in John chapter 10, because of the poor quality of our thoughts. Some harbor thoughts of sexual perversity, pornography, others thoughts of revenge, wickedness, resentment, and pride; still others thoughts of sadness, depression, and discouragement. All of these different types of thoughts are evil and never inspired by God. So we need to get rid of it and here’s how.
Romans 12:2
Do not allow yourselves to be molded by the current world, but allow yourselves to be transformed by the renewal of your thought, in order to be able to discern the will of God: what is good, what pleases him, what is perfect.
1. When God comes in, evil comes out.
There is no secret we need that God has not already revealed to us and the greatest of all is this: to lead a fruitful life we must spend quality time with God.. The more time we spend with someone, the more we start to resemble them: using the same expressions, the same language, having the same opinions, being interested in the same things, etc. It is the same with God. Do you want to be more and more like Him? Love the things He loves? Think the things He thinks? Does His personality rub off on yours? So make Him your best friend! Spend all your days in His company through prayer, worship, reading the Bible, listening to teachings and podcasts, uplifting conversations with brothers and sisters in Christ, etc.
Philippians 2:10-11
That in the name of Jesus every knee bend in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Another thing that happens when we spend time with God: His presence drives out all other presence. The demons know it, the devil knows it: when Jesus arrives, they are obliged to clear off, they and their batches of bad thoughts and perverse actions! This is why they do everything to keep us away from the presence of God! The less we are in the company of God, the more we are the object of negative and infernal influences. Have you ever noticed that after an intense moment of worship or prayer at home or at church, for the next few hours, your thoughts are not the same? You are more relaxed, happier, more serene; you were downcast but now you have faith and you regain courage… This is what happens when we cultivate the presence of God in our life:
2. If you don’t like what’s in your head, put something else in there.
We are not victims. On the contrary, the Bible teaches us that we are already victorious! So we don’t have to accept, bear, and let ourselves be carried away by all these raging thoughts.
Jeremiah 4:14
Jerusalem, if you want to be delivered, wash your heart of its wickedness. How long will you harbor evil thoughts within you?
God rebukes His children in this passage for harboring evil thoughts within them. If He reproaches them, it is because He certainly considered them responsible for their own condition! Yes, we have within us the ability to change our thoughts. It’s not up to God to open our skulls and remove all the dirt inside. It is up to us to do what is necessary to have the right thoughts.
A famous quote says it like this: “You can’t stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from making a nest on your head. In other words, we can’t always prevent the thought from coming, but we can reject it! We can command him to go in the name of Jesus. As soon as wicked thoughts and dirty images arise, we can begin to pray intensely or drive them away by trying to think of something else! It’s a difficult self-defense mechanism to practice at first, but the more you do it, the faster you’ll see results.
We are then masters of our thoughts. So if we don’t like them, we just have to change them. How? By thinking good things intentionally. Instead of thinking about the harm that X person has done to you, think about the good that Y person has done to you! It’s a question of choice! Fix your attention on what is good and not what is bad.
3. Don’t let just anyone go home.
Psalms 101:3
I will put nothing evil before my eyes; I hate the conduct of sinners; She won’t get attached to me.
Let’s be very careful about what we allow our eyes to see, our ears to hear, and our mouths to say. If you have problems with sex, stop watching pornographic and erotic films, of course, but also stop watching the films of the world because at one time or another there will always be a suggestive scene of kissing, caressing, or even women in frivolous outfits, etc. And without realizing it, by looking at it you are feeding evil instead of killing it.
In summary, don’t watch anything, don’t listen to anything, and don’t enter into any kind of conversation. Because everything you look at, everything you hear, and everything you say nourish something in you!
4. Think what you think.
Proverbs 19:16
To obey the commandments is to watch over one’s own life; not to watch over one’s conduct is to run to death.Proverbs 16:17
Right people shun evil. He who watches his conduct protects his life.
Just because you love God and are saved doesn’t automatically renew your mind. Fake. It is a work that the believer must initiate and in which he must persevere. In other words, God will not do the work for you. You can’t sit around, watch anything on TV, talk about questionable subjects with anyone, not worry about spending time with God and then one morning you wake up and HOP! Your thoughts are perfectly pure and righteous. No, it doesn’t work like that. We must create an environment conducive to good thoughts by applying all that has been said before.
It is our task to watch over our conduct and therefore watch over our thoughts. Watching means paying attention to our eyes, our mouths, our ears, and the people and places we allow to influence us; to watch means to watch for the arrival of rotten thoughts in order to repel them before they have even had time to put themselves at ease and settle down; to watch means to protect our thoughts by making sure that nothing comes to defile them.
Philippians 4:8
For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever merits approval, whatever is virtuous and worthy of praise, be the object of your thoughts.
Intentional thinking is purposely thinking about some things and refusing to think about others. This is the key to the renewal of our intelligence. Purposely focus your attention that all that Philippians 4:8 recommends to us: things that are true, pure, just, lovely, virtuous, worthy of praise, etc. Examine each of your thoughts under the radar of this verse, and if it does not fit into any of the categories mentioned, have no mercy, push it away!
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Final Words:
It all starts there and it all ends there: our thinking. We struggle in our life, in our homes, in our work, and in our spiritual life because of our rebellious thoughts. This world taught us to think whatever we wanted to think, good or bad; now God wants to teach us to think like a child of light in order to produce fruits of light. Never forget: you recognize a tree by its fruits.