It can be easy to ignore the condition of our heart and tolerate negative thoughts. There have been many times when I have tolerated negative thoughts like believing that I’m not beautiful or thoughts like my husband would want to be with someone else.

You would think I would instantly stop myself from believing these thoughts, but when certain thoughts become so common, it can be easy for us to tolerate them.

It’s important however that we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). We can easily resist the devil as we choose to submit to God (James 4:7). 

Check the condition of your heart by inviting the Holy Spirit in to show you if there is anything dark you have been tolerating within your mind. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Guarding your heart includes being vigilant of what you let in your heart and what is in your heart. What is in our hearts will eventually come out in our actions. 

If we want to be vigilant of the enemy’s ways, we must be vigilant over the condition of our hearts. Guarding your heart is important because anything you tolerate inside your heart will eventually come out in your actions.

It’s important to take time every day to check on your heart and guard your heart from anything that would cause you to sin.

The enemy isn’t here to just ruin our day but to destroy our souls for eternity.

1 Peter 5:8 says, “ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Every day we need to be vigilant of the enemy’s schemes by guarding our hearts against things like offense, hopelessness, anger, jealousy, lust, selfishness, and anything that isn’t of Jesus.

When we tolerate the attacks of the enemy, we are inviting him to have room to destroy our souls by leading us to sin. Resist the devil by refusing to partner with anything dark and instead let the light of Jesus shine over your heart every day.

Don’t let anything shake your faith in Jesus. Stay rooted and immovable in the faith, remembering Jesus has defeated the grave and we too will reign with Him in eternity. 

Is there anything in your heart that you have been tolerating that needs to be laid aside and renewed with God’s truth?

The most important vision we need to have every day before us is to love Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength which includes obeying His commands. Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, obey my commandments.”

The moment we stop living with the vision to love Jesus and obey His commands is when we will start to drift into the path that will lead us to perish. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” 

This world is temporary, but eternity is forever. Let’s live every day not pleasing our fleshly desires but living with the fear of God to please Him. 

How can you be vigilant over your life and love Jesus better?

Jesus isn’t an option or a preference — He is the light we ALL need. Jesus alone is the one who can fill us with light because He is the light of the world (John 8:12). The solution for every problem is found in Jesus. He is hope, truth, and the source for an abundant life on earth and for eternity. 

Jesus promises that when we follow Him, we will never walk in darkness (John 8:12). We become bound to sin because we choose to follow our flesh rather than Jesus. Galatians 5:16 reminds us to “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” 

As we choose every day to follow Jesus, we will always be filled with life and light. 

Make Psalm 139:23-24 your prayer, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” As you invite the Holy Spirit in to inspect your heart, confess anything that is not of God and renew your mind with God’s truth.

So remember, be vigilant of the devil.

Prayer: Jesus, remove anything from our hearts and lives that is distracting us from putting You first and loving you. Let us guard our hearts against the enemy and stay rooted in Jesus. 

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Sometimes the hardest person to love can be the person you love the most. Because you love them so much, they can hurt you the most.

Someone close to me had a history of constantly hurting me through making the same mistakes again and again. As time went by, things did get better, but not completely good.

I struggled with seeing them from their past mistakes. My unforgiveness was creating bitterness in my heart. I longed to love them from a pure heart, but it seemed far from possible. It was in that moment that I came to God and asked Him to help me see this person as He sees them. God immediately showed me the potential this person had and who He made this person to be. This gave me the capability to speak life to this person and build them up.

I was then led to Philippians 4:8 which further helped me to love this person and think positively:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.”

I could choose to dwell in their flaws and think of their previous mistakes, but what good does that do to me? Dwelling on bad thoughts only made it harder for me to love this person and rejoice. As I chose to think of good things and what God had in store for them, I found forgiveness and love flowing through my heart.

God also reminded me that He doesn’t hold my past against me, so how could I hold someone else against their mistakes? Matthew 18 speaks of a parable of a man who was forgiven a huge debt but did not forgive his servant’s debt. Matthew 18:32-33 says, “Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’”

Let us continue to practice thinking positive and praiseworthy thoughts daily. The moment a negative thought comes to mind, take captive of it and make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5).

Maybe your issue isn’t with a certain person but with your circumstances. We are still called to rejoice even when our circumstances are hard. 1 Thess 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

God commands us to rejoice always—not sometimes or in certain conditions, but always. 

Even if we cannot come up with anything to give thanks for, we can give thanks for who God is. God is good not because of our circumstances, but because He is good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” This verse reminds us that God is good because His agenda is always to bless those who love Him.

Will you take time each day to rejoice and fix your mind on praiseworthy things? Will you make the commitment to no longer tolerate a negative thought? 

Thinking negatively does no good for you, so why do it? God has a beautiful future ahead of you. Trust Him and keep going. So remember, think positive God thoughts.

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Prayer: Jesus, help me to think praiseworthy thoughts and to remember your great love for me.

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I used to have a habit of pushing away negative thoughts by making myself busy. I thought to myself, “As long as I don’t think of these thoughts and get my mind on something else, I’ll be good.”

What I found later was that running away from my anxious thoughts never fixed my anxiety. As the night came near, I found those anxious thoughts surfacing again to a greater degree.

God showed me the issue I had—I was tolerating the attacks of the enemy instead of fighting back. 2 Cor. 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.“

I was not capturing my thoughts but rather running away from them. As God showed this verse to me, I was reminded that I had to take captive these negative thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.

How do we make such thoughts obedient to Christ? By the Word of God.

The Bible contains truth to overcome every attack of the enemy. Whether you are struggling with anxiety, anger, lust, or hurt, God has a truth that can set us free from these very bondages. We must take captive every negative or intrusive thought and break it down with God’s truth. The Word of God is our sword to use against the enemy (Ephesians 6:17). It has the power to stop fear and negative thoughts.

As I started taking captive my anxious thoughts and speaking God’s truth over them, my fear dissipated. We have divine power through the Word of God to break down every stronghold (2 Cor. 10:4).

We see the enemy trying to tempt Jesus in Matthew 4. Jesus responded to every temptation with “It is written….” Jesus was able to overcome the enemy’s tactics with the Word of God. Satan eventually stopped tempting Jesus and left. Satan realized he could do nothing to move Jesus. As we learn to use the Word of God and resist the enemy, he too will flee from us. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Have you been tolerating the attacks of the enemy? What thoughts are you choosing to think about?

Pray and ask God to show you a verse or chapter in the Bible to hold on to. Speak those verses out loud whenever you get attacked by the enemy. Jesus is the Word made flesh. As we cling to the Word, we are clinging to Jesus Himself.

We too have the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us and empowers us with self-control to resist the devil. Don’t tolerate any thought that doesn’t align with 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝. Now is the time to pick up the Word of God and use it against the enemy. So remember, fight with the Word of God.

Listen more on this topic in our latest Podcast “Fight With The Word of God”
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Prayer: Jesus, I ask that you make your Word alive in me. Show me every truth in your Word to defeat the lies and attacks of the enemy. I thank you that through you, I am an overcomer. 

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The moments when I have fallen into anxiety were the times when I chose to see from the pain of my past instead of God’s perspective.

I knew that God was for me and not against me, but I still gave into fear. It wasn’t until I chose to renew my mind with His truth and see my situation from a place of hope that the fear broke off of me.

I no longer gave into the emotions of my anxiety and was able to walk out with peace and joy.

The enemy wants us to be stuck seeing from a false perspective so that we never experience the full life that Jesus has for us. However, we have the choice to renew our minds and be transformed into His image. Romans 12:2 says, “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve God’s good and pleasing will for our lives.”

How do we know if we are not living out the full life that Jesus called us to live? By the fruits of our lives.

Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

If we are filled with anxiety, then we cannot possibly be living with joy. If we hold anger or resentment towards another, then that too shows we do not have the fruits of the spirit which are peace and kindness. These are all indicators that we need a changed perspective.

As long as we choose to live from our old mindsets, we will never live changed lives. We will end up talking ourselves out of how we should be living according to Christ. God could be telling you to break up with someone, but because you are still holding on to fear, you will find yourself staying in that relationship and never seeing the best that God has for you. God could be telling you to not stress, but if you choose to still see from the eyes of fear and worry, you will never experience the peace that has been promised to you.

We must replace our fears and old mindsets with God’s perspective and say, “God I thank you that you know what’s best for me and you have good plans in store for me.”

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.“

Thankfulness is key in living out God’s perspective for our lives. An unthankful heart is what makes us prone to the attacks of the enemy. That is why throughout the Bible we see thankfulness repeated many times. Colossians 2:7 says, “continue to walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.“

Right after Philippians 4:6 where Paul tells us to not be anxious, he emphasizes that we need to think positive thoughts. He says, “…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.“

Living anxiety-free is possible, but it starts with our thoughts.

Right thoughts will lead us to the right perspective. 

What thoughts have been in your mind? Have you been intentional with keeping God’s perspective by renewing your mind with His truth?

God has mighty plans for you, but it takes your surrender to see His beautiful plans laid out. Surrender every fear that has been holding you back and put your hope in God. Psalm 91:4 says His faithfulness will be our shield and rampart. If God is your shield, nothing can stand against you. Take His word and allow it to guard your perspective.

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I was battling feelings of hurt and anger towards someone and couldn’t shake off the emotions. No matter how hard I tried to think positively, I found myself getting wounded by the pain.

During my time with Jesus, He reminded me to stand firm. I was then led to Ephesians 6:10 which says, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

God reminded me that I had to stand firm in Him and in His mighty power. I ended up getting into worship and called unto Him. At that moment I felt His power and love rest upon me and all the pain that I was holding on to left. His love for me became more real than everything else that was going on around me.

It can be easy for us to turn to people or the things of this world to fight off our emotions, but such things will only leave us wounded. Healing is found in the power and love of Jesus. We are called to be strong in his mighty power.

You may have many reasons to justify your emotions, but trust that God is able to:

• restore what was broken
• open blind eyes
• set you free
• bring breakthrough
• pave ways we could never imagine.

God is able to do the miraculous. When you feel weak, press into God. Call unto Him and worship Him. He draws near to those who worship Him and brings us joy and healing. He refreshes our souls and fills us with hope once again.

Psalm 43:5 says, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Choose to believe in what you know, and not what you see or feel. This is the season to stand firm in God and not waver in your faith. Allow His truth and presence to bring rest to your soul. So remember, you can fight off your emotions through God’s mighty power.
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Before our lives can be transformed, first our minds have to be transformed. Have you considered the thoughts that go through your mind throughout the day? Do you dwell more in fear and negativity or positive and praiseworthy thoughts?

Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:8-9, “…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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

The keyword in that verse is to practice. We must practice having a disciplined thought process – submitting every thought that doesn’t come from the Spirit of truth to Jesus.

Any thought that has its root in fear does not come from God. Whether we are struggling with fear of singleness, lack of finances, or any other worry, we must choose to speak God’s truth over our fears. 2 Timothy1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

The word “sound mind” means having a controlled mind. This comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must also choose to filter out every negative thought and fill our minds with God’s truth.

The enemy will always use fear and speak lies into our mind to hold us back from receiving God’s promises. We need to invite God’s perspective so we can identify what are lies and what are truths. Mediating in the Bible is the best way to renew our minds because the Bible holds God’s truth.

Be intentional with disciplining your thoughts to only dwell on things that are pure, true, and praiseworthy. Let us be quick to filter out any thought that doesn’t come from Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Practice having a disciplined thought process so that you can ride the new wave of acceleration that God is bringing into the body of Christ. Listen more into this topic of “Practicing A Renewed Mind” on our podcast:

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