There is no lack of information out there for those who are looking to overcome negative thinking.
Everything from books to articles, from online courses to life coaches - all designed to help you to turn negative thoughts into positive ones.
They arm you with positive affirmations, morning routines to set the tone for your day, meditation techniques, and self-care exercises [https://rosilindjukic.com/is-self-care-biblical-for-christian-women/].
And while this may work for some on a surface level, negativity isn’t just a battle we wage in our thoughts - it’s a battle that is also waged in our spirit.
And all of the positive affirmations and self-care routines will never go to the spirit level.
To wage spiritual battles, we must use spiritual weapons.
This is why I speak out so strongly against mingling these new age and pagan practices with Christianity because they defile our worship.
They also give us a false sense of having righted our course, when all we’ve done is put up a smoke screen that distracts us from the real issue.
God wants to get to the heart of the issue, and in order to do so, He must deal with the areas of our life that until now we’ve been unwilling to let Him touch.
5 Biblical Steps to Overcome Negative Thinking
If we’re going to overcome negative thinking, we must take a biblical approach.
We must wage this spiritual battle with spiritual weapons of warfare that are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds!
Strongholds.
Areas of our life where we have allowed the enemy jurisdiction in our life. It is time to evict him and all of his minions!
Are you ready?
1. Identify source of negativity
This is actually a little harder than we think.
Our first response is to point to a person or situation in our life as a source of negativity and drama, but if we’re going to root it out, we must go deeper.
The easiest way to solve your dandelion problem is to chop them down with a lawnmower.
But have you really solved the problem? Actually, no. You may have made it worse! To solve the problem, you must go to the root.
Go past the person or situation. Go past the negative emotions. Go all the way down to 1 John 2:15-16
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”
For every sin that exists, from which they all stem
The lust of the flesh
The lust of the eyes
The pride of life
The negativity in your life may stem from a desire that is unmet in your life or an area of bitterness left unchecked. Whatever it is, you need to follow it down to the root.
Then it’s time to repent and root it out.
2. Take every thought captive
“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” 2 Corinthians 10:5
The goal isn’t just to overcome negative thinking.
If this were the goal, then all of those positive affirmations and self-care routines would actually work. But for the Christian, there is a greater goal!
The greater goal is to transform our thinking so that our thoughts are expressed through the truth of Scripture.
God wants our thinking to agree with His thinking!
The Greek word for captivity in 2 Corinthians 10:5 literally means to imprison and bring into submission so that our thoughts are brought into obedience to Jesus Christ.
3. Renew your mind
Once you’ve captured that negative thought, you need to begin building new thinking patterns.
Again, this goes beyond - way beyond - positive affirmations. Positive affirmations deal with our psyche; renewing the mind goes all the way to our spirit.
We aren’t renewing our mind on the soul level.
We’re renewing our mind at the spirit level - and to do so, we must use spiritual weaponry!
We aren’t turning negative thoughts into positive thoughts; we’re turning negative thoughts into biblical thoughts, and to do so, we must use Gods Word.
Find a verse or passage that speaks to the source of your negativity and begin memorizing it and meditating on it.
4. Cultivate thankfulness
“Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 Emphasis mine
I’ll bet you’ve never considered thanksgiving to be a spiritual weapon.
But it is!
Thanksgiving is a powerful weapon to battle fear, worry, anxiety, and negativity, because it shifts our focus from our circumstances to our Creator!
We stop looking at what we don’t have or what we wish we could change to all of the glorious things God has done in our life.
5. Worship
Have you noticed all of the times in the Old Testament when God used worship to defeat Israel’s enemy?
Joshua
Jehoshaphat
Gideon
One of the tools God has given me for bringing rest in my home is to play worship music more often than I do - to create an atmosphere of worship in my home.
Worship brings rest.
It brings rest from our enemy because as God is glorified, the enemy is confused. He flees. He is confused. He defeats himself.
Worship should always remind us [https://rosilindjukic.com/tag/worship/] of who God is: His sovereignty, His character, and His might and power.
And as we become more aware of who He really is, the negativity in our lives must dissipate!
Knowledge and understanding of who God is cannot coexist with negativity. The one cancels out the other.
And sadly, the opposite is true: when we concentrate on negativity, we lose sight of who God really is! This is why worship must be a daily practice in our life because it brings into focus who God is.
And when who God really is comes into focus, negativity flees.
Knowing what Scripture says is the first step. But what would it look like to actually walk it out in your everyday life?
This month inside Walk With Me, we’re taking 20 days to intentionally cultivate a thankful heart through our Thankfulness Challenge. You’ll have an opportunity to put what you’re learning into practice, one day at a time, and receive practical resources to help you along the way—including these Bible verses and printable bookmarks about overcoming negativity, along with additional Scripture resources and tools for cultivating thankfulness. If you’re ready to move beyond simply knowing what God’s Word says and begin living it out, I’d love to have you join us!