{"id":1561,"date":"2021-05-18T04:48:49","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T11:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diannebarker.com\/?p=1561"},"modified":"2021-05-18T04:51:07","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T11:51:07","slug":"negative-thoughts-will-rob-your-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diannebarker.com\/?p=1561","title":{"rendered":"Negative Thoughts Will Rob Your Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Negative thoughts will rob your joy, your hope, your life. They\u2019ve stolen a large part of mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a confusing personality\u2014a strange combination of extrovert and introvert. The part people see is outgoing, friendly, talkative. The hidden part is shy, withdrawn, insecure. Those who know me well may find this hard to believe but it\u2019s true. Didn\u2019t I warn you it\u2019s confusing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People bring out the best in me. I\u2019m the classic social butterfly\u2014and so optimistic I can be annoying. But that inner self at times prefers being alone\u2026and there\u2019s where my trouble begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My inner self is home to worry, fear, regret, low self-esteem\u2014scoundrels I\u2019ve wrestled for most of my life. They hang together in a crate labeled <em>negative thinking<\/em>. Do you struggle with these pests, too? If only we could call an exterminator to eliminate these invaders that steal life one moment at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recognizing the enemy is a crucial factor in battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this battle for the mind, Satan is the enemy\u2014a subtle and cunning thief and destroyer who never tires of harassing us. His favorite target is our control center\u2014the mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bible says, \u201cAbove all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life\u201d (Proverbs 4:23). Wellspring means source or fountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>heart<\/em> seems a remote place and what goes on there is vague. I\u2019ve come to this understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The heart <em>feels<\/em> what the mind is <em>thinking<\/em>. To guard our heart, we must guard our thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/wp.me\/p9m6jT-aZ&amp;text=The%20heart%20feels%20what%20the%20mind%20is%20thinking.%20To%20guard%20our%20heart%2C%20we%20must%20guard%20our%20thoughts.&amp;via=DianneBarker12&amp;related=DianneBarker12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The heart feels what the mind is thinking. To guard our heart, we must guard our thoughts. <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/wp.me\/p9m6jT-aZ&amp;text=The%20heart%20feels%20what%20the%20mind%20is%20thinking.%20To%20guard%20our%20heart%2C%20we%20must%20guard%20our%20thoughts.&amp;via=DianneBarker12&amp;related=DianneBarker12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click To Tweet<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Four elements of guarding against negative thoughts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Take thoughts captive. \u201c\u2026The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ\u201d (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Resist wrong thoughts, brushing them off as you\u2019d brush a bee from your shoulder.<\/li><li>Think about good things\u2014the <em>whatsoevers<\/em> Paul talked about in Philippians 4:8. Choose to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, admirable.<\/li><li>Renew the mind by meditating on God\u2019s Word. \u201cBe not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God\u201d (Romans 12:2). Memorizing Scripture, storing God\u2019s truth in your heart, gives you a strong arsenal to combat an enemy attack.<\/li><li>Sing praise and give thanks. \u201cI will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving\u201d (Psalm 69:30). Offer praise and thanksgiving by a decision of the will\u2014even when circumstances aren\u2019t favorable\u2014because God is worthy of our adoration and appreciation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a tendency to live by <em>feeling<\/em>. In unfavorable circumstances, I don\u2019t <em>feel<\/em> like choosing to take thoughts captive, choosing to think about good things, choosing to renew my mind by meditating on God\u2019s Word, choosing to praise and give thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One verse brought amazing stability to my life. \u201cHe that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls\u201d (Proverbs 25:28).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In biblical times a city with no protective wall lay defenseless against enemy attack. Letting emotion rule left me defenseless against the enemy of my soul. I had to halt his access to my life through feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Source of the <em>feelings<\/em> trap is negative thinking. Thoughts control mood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/wp.me\/p9m6jT-aZ&amp;text=Source%20of%20the%20feelings%20trap%20is%20negative%20thinking.%20Thoughts%20control%20mood.&amp;via=DianneBarker12&amp;related=DianneBarker12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Source of the feelings trap is negative thinking. Thoughts control mood. <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https:\/\/wp.me\/p9m6jT-aZ&amp;text=Source%20of%20the%20feelings%20trap%20is%20negative%20thinking.%20Thoughts%20control%20mood.&amp;via=DianneBarker12&amp;related=DianneBarker12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Click To Tweet<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every waking moment, we\u2019re thinking. Since our enemy relentlessly plants negative ideas in the fertile soil of our thought-life, we must relentlessly guard our thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Negative thinking is poison, and poison is deadly. Don\u2019t allow it access to your joy, your hope, your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting rid of negative thinking and all its cousins is a choice, a decision, a mindset. Start by making Psalm 19:14 a daily prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,<\/em> <em>be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Negative thoughts belong in the garbage dump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you wrestle with negative thinking? Please leave a comment\u2014and share this with friends who need encouragement today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a9 Dianne Barker 2018 (reprinted)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Negative thoughts will rob your joy, your hope, your life. They\u2019ve stolen a large part of mine. I have a confusing personality\u2014a strange combination of extrovert and introvert. The part people see is outgoing, friendly, talkative. The hidden part is shy, withdrawn, insecure. Those who know me well may find this hard to believe but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,684,15,685,135],"class_list":["post-1561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-dianne-barker","tag-negative-thoughts-will-rob-your-joy","tag-praise","tag-renewing-the-mind","tag-taking-thoughts-captive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Negative Thoughts Will Rob Your Joy - Dianne Barker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diannebarker.com\/?p=1561\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Negative Thoughts Will Rob Your Joy - Dianne Barker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Negative thoughts will rob your joy, your hope, your life. 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