I’ve spent lots and lots of nights laying awake, battling unwanted thoughts. I’ve spent days frozen in fear brought on by ideas dancing through my head. Panic attacks, racing heart, sweaty hands, the feeling of being utterly, hopelessly stuck. If any of that sounds familiar to you, I’m glad you’re here. This is for you. It’s time to take your thoughts captive. Let me tell you what has worked for me.
- Here’s the whole series:
- Intentionality to Relieve Anxiety
- Create an Intentional Home
- Take Your Thoughts Captive With Intentionality
- Action Steps for Intentional Living
Some Of My Unwanted Thoughts
Not all that long ago the thought of sitting in a nursery with a little on the way made my blood run cold.
I remember sitting in a tiny Mexican restaurant several years ago–nearly in tears as I told Derek I thought it was time to start a family. These were not happy tears or tears of expectation. They were tears of fear. But alas, we were getting older and had been married nearly 10 years. This is what came next. Like it or not.
I’d been laying awake at night, distracted during the day. Being a mom terrified me. My mind had accepted lies (some created by me, others fed to me over many years) about motherhood. These lies told me that being a mom meant life was over. If I hadn’t achieved “success” by the time I got pregnant I never would. Being a mom meant I’d amount to nothing and all the good things God had handed me would be wasted. It meant I would be a failure–to myself, God and my spouse. (More on lies here.)
Lies or no lies, we were getting older. This is what needed to be done. By stating I thought we should start a family, I was giving up on a lot of things.
Intentionality in Thought is to Take Your Thoughts Captive
I will spare you many more details. The story ends like this: We didn’t have kids at that time. My mind went from this state of anxiety and unwanted thoughts to a full break (more here). Eventually I found healing. During that process I started to notice lots of unwanted thoughts floating around my mind. About motherhood, and lots of other things. And I decided not to let them run my life any more.
God had given me the word intentionality (read about that here) and I began applying it to my thoughts. I stopped being prey for lies and scary thoughts and started being their predator. I began to take those thoughts captive.
And today, I’m going to share how you can take your thoughts captive too.
Identify Strongholds
Before you being to take your thoughts captive, you must identify strongholds.
What IS a stronghold?
Until I was coming out of a mental health crisis I had never heard the term “stronghold” used as Christian jargon. A friend gave me this book–and it had a huge impact on my healing. I understood what a stronghold was and knew that was exactly what I’d been fighting for the last few months.
Max Lucado has a great post on strongholds here. This is a quote that sums it up:
What is that one weakness, bad habit, rotten attitude? Where does the devil have a stronghold on you? Ahh, there is the word that fits–stronghold–fortress, citadel, thick walls, tall gates. It’s as if the devil has fenced in one negative attribute, one bad habit, one weakness and constructed a rampart around it. “You ain’t touching this flaw,” he defies to heaven and he places himself squarely between God’s help and your: __[insert stronghold here]_______.
Max Lucado
Literally, where does Satan have a strong hold on you? For me…it was lots of places.
This is uncomfortable to think about. It requires vulnerability, an admission that you are flawed and have been deceived.
Welcome to the club. Let me, and the whole of Scripture assure you, you are not alone.
Remain Teachable
The sermon at church on Sunday centered on renewing the mind. It so closely mirrored my outline for this post it was eerie. Anyway, our pastor had a great quote that I’ll share here about strongholds:
[Strongholds] keep us from being who God wants us to be and receiving what God wants to give us.
Barry Seifert, Assoc Pastor, First Baptist Church Minot
Strongholds are the key to thinking intentionally and taking your thoughts captive. Identify where Satan has a hold on your thoughts–where are they running amok? Then remain teachable to correct those thoughts and overcome.
Fear is a red flag that I am withholding something from God.
Fear is a red flag that I/you/we are withholding something from God. For me, the gripping fear of being a mom meant I was withholding my career, ideal of success, trust in His provision, trust in His ability to use my gifts from God.
If you cannot humble yourself to learn, incorrect, destructive thoughts will continue to control your mind processes. This in turn, will leave you enslaved to your fears and unruly ideas.
Accept That Not All Thoughts Are Wanted or Needed
It’s a myth that we cannot control our thoughts, that everything in our minds is put there by God.
Thoughts are influenced and implanted in our minds from many sources. Key being: worldly influence and lies/fear surrounding our strongholds. (This is why the Audit in Part II is so important to daily, intentional living.)
Once you accept that not all thoughts are needed, you are free to ruthlessly take your thoughts captive and throw the unwanted to the dumpster. Chase them down and eliminate them. You can restrain your thoughts. Your mind can renewed. (Romans 12:2)
Redirect
Okay, you identified where you are vulnerable (strongholds) and accepted that not all thoughts need to take up your valuable headspace. You’ve taken your thoughts captive and know you want to be rid of them.
Now what?
Now is the time for redirection. If the space that those thoughts occupied remains empty, it’s an invitation for them to reenter. (See Col 3:1-5)
Redirection is easier to say than do. Just think of something else. *insert eye roll here** I know firsthand that it’s not as simple as just wishing you could think of something else. I’ve been there.
Those unwanted thoughts that you just can’t shake are fruit from the tree of fear and anxiety. They’re a sign that a lie has taken root in your heart and mind. Identify the root of the lie, yank it out, and replace it with Truth.
This takes work. Auditing (see part II) and eliminating things you have come to like. But the freedom it brings is worth all the eliminating and auditing in the world.
How to Redirect Your Thoughts
When I was most in need of intentionality in my thinking I put a huge limit on what was speaking into my life. I shut down all the voices, except a very few that I knew were speaking truth. Here are helpful techniques to redirect/correct lots of very tricky, unwanted thoughts:
- Commitment to be in the Word daily.
- Praying daily for the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to strongholds and teach me to overcome them.
- Praying daily that my eyes would be open to the lies I’d been deceived by and the Truth God wanted me to understand.
- When I didn’t know how to pray, I turned back to this book.
- Researching one topic at a time, journaling/listing everything God said about that topic. (For me I looked into every reference to God as a father, parents, parenting, and mothers.)
- Pressing pause on all unscriptural voices speaking into me (social media, TV, movies, books, audiobooks, etc.)
Follow Jesus’ example. When He was tempted by lies and unwanted thoughts He turned to God’s Word to shut them down. (Matt 4:1-11). Humbly accept that what you may think is true may be flawed. Be in the Word, redirect your mind to Truth.
Ruthlessly remove anything that negatively affects your mind and ability to absorb God’s Word.
Barry Seifert, Assoc Pastor, First Baptist Church Minot
Be Diligent to Overcome Unwanted Thoughts
This last point is key. There is no quick fix for taking your thoughts captive, eliminating unwanted thinking and being totally intentional in your mind. It’s going to take time and practice (see Part II).
But you can do it. Really, you can.
Your thoughts should not be master over you. You can one Master and His yoke is kind. His will is not to keep you pinned under the weight of fear inflicted by thoughts He never intended to fill your mind.
Begin to weed out the lies and what you are withholding from God–these are at the root of unwanted thoughts. Address them one at a time. Then, when things have cleared up, continue the practice. You must be diligent not to let them reenter. New strongholds may arise, but you will be equipped with intentionality, to master what is in your mind and redirect it with Truth.
More Intentionality and Christ-Centered Living
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