How to Strengthen Your Mind With Truth

The mind has been found to have approximately 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day. Of those thousands of thoughts, 80% is believed to be negative. What if it was the opposite? We can’t control what thoughts come into our minds, but we can learn how to train our minds to not dwell on the negative. Think about the phrase ‘Train of Thought’ like a train that takes our thoughts to a destination. Negative thoughts lead us to a negative destination; Positive thoughts lead us to a positive destination. The question is: where do we want to end up?

"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." Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

A negative train of thought can lead us to the wrong destination, not to the destination that we want to arrive at. A negative thought can also lead to a roadblock. The roadblock can prevent us from getting to where we want to go. For example, if we have the thought 

“I can’t do it,” when something is too hard for us or when we fail at a task, it can result in a roadblock that prevents us from achieving what we want to achieve.

Another example of a negative thought could be constantly worrying about the worst-case scenario. We stress about our finances when we have a tight month, fear about losing our job, or worry about our health status or the health status of a loved one. 

“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.”

 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

Ask the Lord the show you if there is something feeding your mind with negativity. Seek the Lord daily in prayer. Read the Bible daily to store God's Word within your heart, so will be strong against any negative thought. We should self-monitor our minds and always make God's Word our guide.

We need a plan of action when we do have a negative thought. What action will we plan to take when we are aware of our negative thought? When a negative thought attacks, we should replace the thought with truth or change our perspective depending on what the thought is. By coming against a negative thought with Truth and by the simple change of perspective, we avoid jumping on a negative train of thought. Redirecting our thoughts is key. 

Unfortunately, redirecting a thought is way easier said than done, but just like anything else, regular practice helps us grow any task and consistent practice can make it a habit. Negative thoughts don’t have an antidote to prevent them from entering our minds. We must exercise our minds daily, repeatedly, and with regular practice by praying and staying in God's Word everyday. 

Think about our mind as a muscle. The more we exercise a muscle the stronger it grows, the bigger it expands, and more resilient it becomes. According to Oxford’s English dictionary, the word resilient means “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions” and “able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed.” A strong muscle has greater elasticity than a weak muscle. In other words, a flexible muscle can be stretched far beyond its inactive state, but the muscle will still be able to spring back to its original condition.

We have the ability to train our minds like the resilience of a muscle. To have a resilient mind requires much effort and practice. Let’s learn to be aware of our thoughts. If we can’t identify a thought as negative, we won’t be able to change the thought. It is not possible to change something that we cannot recognize. So, we must be conscious of our thoughts to be able to distinguish a negative thought. What areas of our minds do we need to strengthen? Do we allow negative thoughts to control what we believe?

 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

All strength, whether it is our muscle or our mind, comes through resistance. Working out is not effective without some resistance. We don’t get stronger muscles from lifting a small and light object, but rather, it is lifting the hard and challenging that results in muscle growth. Holding on to negative thoughts is easier than fighting against them. Resistance is not found when we dwell on negative thoughts. Resistance comes when we go against the negative or the negative source with God’s Word.