I think that I think a lot more than I think I probably should. Okay, so maybe I’m an over-thinker. I replay conversations in my head that happened an hour ago alongside the ones that happened decades ago. Furthermore, I think about the conversations that haven’t even happened yet. I lose sleep because my brain keeps playing the reels of all the things I wished I would have done or could have done or should have done. Then other times it’s about all the things I hope to do or could do or should do. 

One morning as I got ready, while in my over-thinking mode, I suddenly became aware that I had not been fully cognizant of the fact I “thunk” the things I thought about. It’s as though these excessive-ruminations had become auto-pilot ditties that replayed in the background as I moved about my day. Goodness gracious! It was too much! More than that, though, it concerned me because I realized most of my thoughts were negatives ones about myself. These thoughts were more than simply replays from my past or imagined previews of my future; they were derogatory thought patterns that claimed me to be a person I would never want to be. 

These thoughts held me back. There was a battle going on within me, and I hadn’t even realized until that moment, that I was on the losing end. These thoughts were not from God. They were from the enemy. I had already repented for past sins and had given my life to God. Moreover, I sought to do His will with my life going forward. So, in that moment, I determined something had to be done, and I knew I could not do it alone.  

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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 10:3-5 NIV, bold mine.)

My mindless thought patterns had taken a stronghold of me. They needed demolished. Even more, I finally had a better grasp on what it meant to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Now I’m more aware of what I’m thinking about. If my mind starts to go astray, I immediately seize it and look to God for the reassurance.

“For you created my inmost being;                                                                             
     you knit me together in my mother’s womb.                                                                  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;   
     your works are wonderful,   
     I know that full well.                                                                                                     My frame was not hidden from you    
     when I was made in the secret place,                                                                
     when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.                                           Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
     all the days ordained for me were written in your book  
     before one of them came to be.” 
(Psalm 139:13-16 NIV) 

So, if you’re anything like me, and you need to change the thought patterns about yourself, remember Who created you and that He has a good plan laid out for you. The moment any negative thought about yourself creeps in, conquer it by remembering how valuable you are to Christ.