My Paisley Chair

2 Cor 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

I woke up yesterday with thoughts running amuck! If you have ever struggled with chasing those pesky thoughts, captivating them and getting them to stay in the gremlin cage – aka – “conform to the obedience of Christ – you know it can be exhausting. Such was my day, and it sent me back to my journals to review the process of untangling “thought knots”.

Much like a tangled necklace is short and strangling, so are thought knots. Thinking patterns that are allowed to continue to turn upon themselves can become suffocating. However also like a necklace, when the first loop is loosened, it can provide insight as to how to untangle the whole mess!

My first plan of action is to retrace how and why I was bombarded with negative thoughts. Before a thought can be captured, it must be tracked. Do you ever wonder “what thought led me here!?”

I dug these questions out of my journal:

1. When did I begin to think this way?
2. Is there a story (or trigger) behind the thought that is causing me to respond this way?
3. How do I know what is Truth? (Truth, with a capital T.)
4. Could I possibly be wrong and/or viewing this from only my perspective?
5. Have I considered what Scriptures address this thought pattern?

Next, I decided to use “Active Listening” techniques in prayer, because I so badly wanted to hear the voice of the Spirit and I am firmly convinced that God is not trying to keep His will a secret from us. However, in order to actively listen, you first have to ask the right questions. And then … be quiet! ARGH, what a challenge when the internal noise is so loud.

When I began to recount scriptures in my mind, peace was restored.

Which brings me to this …
Phil 4:4 – 9 Don’t be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Identification of a Negative Thought Pattern
I have had a thought pattern come to light recently, a mainstay of my life processes, that has got to change. Though I hate to admit it, I have come to realize its origin is rooted in a lack of trust in the goodness of God. I had believed this thought pattern was securely in place to help me be prepared, equipped and ready for whatever the horizon revealed. However, now that its destructive nature has been revealed – I am forced to re-think the thought. Now the job at hand is to reprogram my reactions and responses, to break a life-long way of thinking and move forward in freedom from being strangled by a faulty self-defense mechanism.

I remember a time when it seemed as if everything in life was sneaking up on me and I was being blindsided at every turn. I have a firm conviction that God’s will can be found – it is not something He is trying to keep a secret. Scriptures indicate that God will reveal things to those who seek Him. So, where this thinking pattern started was with a sincere prayer for God to keep me from being hit so hard so frequently in places I had not seen or considered. I was tired of being spiritually “blonde” – no offense to my sister Blondies intended. (When not naturally blonde – I buy it!) I truly desired to be more sensitive to the Spirit and hear the whisper talked about in the word where “you will hear a voice saying …. “

That was step 1 in the tangled mess of the thought knot. In and of itself, no problem. The next turn however started down the wrong path. When a circumstance would arise that had the potential of throwing me into a spiral – I would begin to imagine the Lord with me in the midst of the situation. Again, in and of itself not a bad practice. Childhood recollections of Bible stories where God showed up flooded my mind. Remembering how many times God had intervened in my life also gave rise to the practice of imagination of what the current situation would look like when God was in the middle of it.

I had never heard of Murphy’s Law until I was an adult, the concept of “if it could go wrong …“ I was Pollyanna for all of my sheltered childhood. I was never plagued with thoughts that ran amuck down to Negative Nellie’s house. But at some point, I began to imagine what would the worst-case scenario look like? If Murphy’s Law happens – where would God show up in the picture? When He does show up, how will that change the outcome? Here’s where the turn went way off the beaten path! If I could picture myself on the other side of the worst-case scenario with God’s help, then anything between here and there would be OK. That may not sound like a destructive thought process, but here’s where it gets suffocating.

Scripture instructs us to capture every thought and imagination and bring them into captivity to the obedience to the word of God. There is nowhere that we are encouraged to imagine the worst happening so we can brace up to bolster our faith to anticipate victory. That way of thinking doesn’t lead to peace, it leads to a temporary panic by imagining things that are not going to happen. Murphy’s Law can’t ALWAYS happen – not every time!

By allowing this thought process I was completely ignoring the practice of “think on these things” – what is pure, …. It was also a total disregard for anticipation of my steps being ordered of the Lord and going from strength to strength. When I refuse to apply the Word of God to my thinking patterns I end up with a thought knot that is squeezing my brain and taking my breath away. As a man thinketh … Disguised as a faith exercise – this deception has caused me to be robbed of the peace of being sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Imagination substituting for inspiration. Self-Projected outcomes replacing Spirit revelation.

You see, it is not enough to just convince myself NOT to think about _?_, I have to construct a battle strategy for when the habitual thought pattern presents itself, so I can quickly correct my thinking, capture thoughts that are contrary to the Word and make them obey. Then my mind will have the freedom to dwell on the goodness of God and His good plans for us!

So crank up the praise music! Call a friend and ask them to tell you how fabulous you are. Try writing down a list of your blessings, I’m confident they outnumber the thoughts you’re trying to cage today!