Can We Really Control Our Thoughts?

 

The brief thought leaves as quickly as it came. By the time I realize what happened, it had disappeared. But when the thought returned, it lingered and I dwelled on it a few moments longer. Then I found myself rationalizing why The Thought was not so bad even as I entertained it.

In the depth of my spirit, I know exactly what happened. Temptation that I’ve neither spoken nor acted upon invaded my thought life yet again.

It’s okay. Nobody expects you to forgive her.

A little fib won’t hurt anyone.

No one will notice if you cut corners.

It’s a small thing. God is busy with bigger issues.

 

Can you relate? How can we battle these sneak attacks coming at us through our thought life? Can we ever really control our thoughts?

In his letter to the early church in Rome, the apostle Paul tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). But God doesn’t just give us this command in the Bible. He also tells us how to control our thought life.

The battle plan for conquering our thoughts is found in Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi in Philippians 4:4-9:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. 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 (NIV).

Let’s break down the steps he described:

 

Step 1: Rejoice

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

Rejoice, even in the middle of the spiritual battle for our thoughts? Yes, bcause “the Lord is near.” He promised to never leave us and He keeps His promises!

 

Step 2: Release

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

This verse tells us to release our anxieties and our requests. Not in a whiny way, but with thanksgiving. If we’re ungrateful in any area, we’re really saying we could do better than God if we were in charge. Thank God for His patience: He keeps teaching us as we continue to mature in Christ.

 

Step 3: Receive

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Trading anxiety for peace sounds like a good deal. Our heavenly Father promises His peace in return for relinquishing our anxiety through prayerful thanksgiving. The Lord promises to use this peace to guard our minds. The Greek word for “guard,” phroureo, has a military connotation: the provision of protection against the enemy. A peace backed by the very power of God Himself through His Son.

 

Step 4: Replace

“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 love a clean house, but I don’t enjoy the required effort. Cleaning our spiritual house is also hard work. However, cleaning out the junk is just the beginning. We need to replace the anxieties and requests we’ve released with things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy.

Consider these suggestions:

• Practice the language of praise.
  • Who is more worthy of praise than the Creator and Sustainer of all that is seen and unseen? Play praise music. Learn hymns and praise choruses.

• Memorize Scripture.
  • There’s nothing truer than God’s Word.

• Spend time with the Lord in prayer.
  • Is anything purer than God’s character and ways? Invest time with the Father to grow in intimacy with Him.
  • List God’s attributes using the alphabet as a memory jogger. For example:

                        A – Almighty

                        B – Beautiful

                        C – Compassionate…

 

Step 5: Repeat

“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.”

Paul closed this passage by encouraging us to follow his example. Whether we succeed or fail. When we feel like it and when we don’t.

Of course, we can’t possibly succeed in our own strength. It’s God who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13), and each day we are being transformed into the image of the glory of the Lord by His Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). We are works-in-progress as the Holy Spirit accomplishes His purposes in us.

The battleground for this transformation is our mind. And a measure of our progress is the development of practices to conquer our thoughts. God’s Word is sure and His ways are proven. Our part is to live out what He says as we depend on His Holy Spirit.

In the battleground of the mind, thoughts can either conquer or be conquered. Are you ready to engage in the battle for control of your thoughts? Victory is possible!