I need to be honest about something: the past months have been hard. I have struggled against major anxiety as I’ve allowed the stress and worry of starting a new business consume me. I kept thinking if I could just get my head on straight, if I could just come up with the right formula of diet, exercise, quiet time, and prayer, I would feel better. I thought surely any day now I would turn a corner—things would get better, and I would finally be able to think clearly and feel like myself again.
After spending months in stubborn refusal, I’ve finally bowed to God’s will and acknowledged that maybe He wasn’t quite done working healing for me through neurofeedback. Our insurance doesn’t cover it so I had been resisting additional treatment because, well, money. That said, I know God is good and if this is what He wants for me, then He will provide.
I’m two sessions into my 20-session treatment block, and I’ve begun to realize something. Neurofeedback is amazing, but if I desire to see true healing then it is absolutely essential that I start taking some responsibility for my own thoughts. Otherwise this will end up basically being a huge waste.
It’s also really begun to sink in how truly short life is, and that I want to actually enjoy my life. I’ve spent too much of the last year dragging myself through and wishing for better days, instead of enjoying the life God has given me right now. Things may not look super rosy at the moment, but God gives us each day, each hour, each breath for a reason, and to squander it by wishing it away smacks of ingratitude.
All of this leads to what God put on my heart yesterday morning—a practical, step-by-step way to start actually taking control of my thoughts.
Philippians 4:8 says, “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.”
There are eight attributes in this verse related to how we ought to think. God has prompted me to commit for seven weeks (I’m combining the last two!) to focus on one of these attributes per week. Any time I am faced with something that makes me anxious, frustrated, angry, anything, I will choose to redirect my thoughts in accordance with the attribute for that week.
I’m praying these seven weeks will help me to learn more about the way God thinks. I hope to learn more about God’s character as I dig deeper into His Word to better understand these seven attributes, and as I look for practical ways to apply them to my thought life. And more than anything I want my thoughts to be transformed until they look as much like God’s as possible.
We can transform the way we think, and therefore the way we live. And I’m inviting you to join me! If you’re struggling with your own thought life, or if maybe you’ve hit a wall in your spiritual walk and need a fresh perspective, I encourage you to take part in this challenge right alongside me.
Each week I will post a more in-depth look at that week’s attribute. I’m ready to see real change take place! Are you?