The Mind Connection: How the Thoughts You Choose Affect Your Mood, Behavior, and Decisions (22 page)
Authors: Joyce Meyer
Tags: #Religion / Christian Life / Personal Growth, #Religion / Christian Life / Inspirational, #RELIGION / Christian Life / Spiritual Growth
• Words are not merely words. They are containers filled with power.
• If you speak and think negative things, it will harm and hinder God’s plan for your life.
• If you are trying to break a habit, confess what you want to see instead of what you can never be.
• Prayer is always the first step in controlling what thoughts you think and what words you say.
• Trust is God’s antidote for worry and anxiety.
• What you allow yourself to meditate on and to declare influences your destiny.
How to Get Your Mind Back When You Feel Like You Have Lost It!
I will be calm; I will be mistress of myself.
Jane Austen,
Sense and Sensibility
We frequently hear people say, “I feel like I am losing my mind!” What do they mean? They are usually worried, anxious, fearful, and feeling overwhelmed by having too much to do in life. We have all felt that way at times and more than likely we have made that statement.
When we feel as if we are losing our mind, it is due to not controlling the thoughts we allow to go through it. When too many thoughts rush in and pile up on top of each other, and we can find no solution to any of the problems they represent, it is because we have not exercised self-control with our thoughts sooner.
I like Jane Austen’s statement: “I
will
be calm; I
will
be mistress of myself.”
1
Doing so is a decision that only strong determination helps us follow through on. God has given us all the peace we need to live without pressure in a world that is filled with pressure everywhere we turn. We do live in the world, but thankfully we don’t have to live as the world lives. We can have the peace of God in the midst of the storms of life.
Before we can enjoy peace of mind, we must truly believe that
we have self-control. We have the ability to control our thoughts, words, and actions! If we don’t believe it, we will never do it. Should you ever feel that you are losing your mind, the first step to take in getting it back is to take a quick inventory of the thoughts racing through it and eliminate all the ones that are stealing your peace. You may be thinking,
Come on, Joyce. It is not that easy.
I didn’t say it was easy, but I am saying that it is possible.
I can recall praying often, “Oh God, grant me peace of mind. I don’t think I can take this much longer.” I have had to learn in my life that I often pray wrong. I ask for things that God has already given me but that I am failing to access by faith. Please examine this Scripture carefully and ask yourself if you believe it or not.
Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]
John 14:27
This Scripture clearly places the responsibility for receiving His peace on us. Jesus has already given us peace. You may say, “Well, if that is true, then where is it, and why don’t I feel peaceful?” You cannot wait to feel it in order to believe you have it. We access all the promises of God by believing them. God calls us to walk by faith and not by sight or feelings (see 2 Corinthians 5:7). I frequently say that we are like people trying to get into a chair we are already sitting in. Just imagine the uselessness and frustration of such an effort. If you’re in the chair, then just relax and enjoy it. Jesus left us His peace, and if you believe it, you will begin to enjoy it.
Peace from God is only one of countless promises that God has given us through Jesus. Think it over—are there other things you are begging God to give you that you already have? I am sure there are many, but self-control may be one of them. You have self-control, and it is waiting for you to exercise it. Self-control is a friend that God gives us to help us be the person we truly want to be and do the things we truly want to do. Some other things that we have in our spirit as gifts from God are love, joy, patience, humility, kindness, goodness, power, mercy, and ability. We start by believing we have them, and they are developed as we use them again and again with God’s help.
The problems of life that come against us are opportunities to exercise the good things that God has filled us with. I will never develop patience if I never have a need to be patient. I will never develop mercy unless I need to give it to someone who really doesn’t deserve it. I will never develop self-control unless I am tempted to lose control.
I think we all have a tipping point and we can learn to recognize what it feels like when we are reaching it. You may be able to do two or even three things at one time, balancing them in such a way that they all get done without causing you stress, but at what point are you overwhelmed? What if the two or three things become ten things? Is that too much, or can you still take more?
We are each created differently, perfectly adapted for the call on our lives. I had an amazing ability to multitask in my earlier years because of what God had called me to do. The ministry was in the early, foundation-laying years, and the workload involved was quite heavy. Back in those days, let’s say theoretically that I
could easily handle juggling four problems at a time and still stay calm. Today that is different. I am older and in a different season of my life. Two is about my maximum these days. If I go over that, I start to feel that I am reaching my tipping point.
I have trained myself to recognize when I am on the verge of losing my peace, and I pull back and eliminate one of the things causing the problem. After almost forty years of experience walking with God, I know how important it is for me to keep my peace! By the way, God’s Word doesn’t say, “When you’re upset, go get some peace,” but it does say to “hold your peace” (see Exodus 14:14).
If I don’t take action to eliminate one or more of my stressors, I will get into that danger zone we are all familiar with. You know, the one where we feel like we are losing our mind, and then we lose control of our mouth and start saying all kinds of things we will be sorry for later, and then we start behaving in ways that embarrass us when we calm down and realize how we acted.
You may think that you have to deal with everything that is thrown at you, and you have no way of eliminating any of the things causing you to feel overwhelmed, but that simply is not true. God will never give us more to handle than we can handle calmly. If I am overloaded, it is my own fault. I have not managed my schedule well, I have said yes to too many things; I am trying to please all the people I know instead of being led by the Holy Spirit. Or I may be a workaholic who feels validated only when I am working and can complain to people about how much I have to do.
If we start the elimination process when we sense we are reaching our tipping point—the place where we are about to go over the edge, so to speak, and start behaving badly—then we will never have to say or think, “I feel like I am losing my mind.”
If we don’t make the decision to calm down early enough, then we will lose control, but even then it is not too late to regain control that has been lost. At any time we realize we are out of control, we can regain control by making a decision to do so. Here are some steps that will hopefully help in the process:
•
Step 1
—Stop talking! When we feel overwhelmed, we usually start talking to anyone who will listen, and if nobody is around, we are prone to talking anyway just to hear the sound of our frustrations. We will never regain control unless we stop talking and regroup!
•
Step 2
—Be as realistic as you can about what is really happening. Have you let yourself become more upset than the situation really calls for? Is the problem you are facing really as bad as you are imagining it to be? Are you worrying about things that have not even happened yet and may never happen?
•
Step 3
—As you begin to calm down, ask yourself if any of the things you feel overloaded with can be put off until later or perhaps handed off to someone else to deal with. Could you get help if you ask for it? Are you really the only one who can handle the things pressuring you? Only a foolish person thinks they can keep doing the same thing and get a different result. So if you truly want change in your circumstances, you will have to be willing to make some changes yourself.
•
Step 4
—Think about what you are thinking about that is frustrating you and stop thinking about it. Cast your care on God
and let Him show you what He can do. Keep saying, “God, I let this go. I trust You!” Say it until you feel yourself calming down.
•
Step 5
—We can manage our emotions and learn to live beyond our feelings. Being the master or mistress of yourself under God’s leadership is entirely possible, but it will not happen as long as you let raw emotion rule. We cannot prevent feelings from coming, but we don’t have to let them control us. We are totally capable of using self-control even in the midst of the wildest emotion. It may be painful to our soul, but it will be worth it in the end. Absolutely nobody respects him-or herself when they are out of control!
•
Step 6
—Resist the devil at his onset! The root source of all lack of peace is the devil. It is not people or even circumstances. It is the devil working through the people or the circumstance. The devil has set you up to get you upset, and the sooner you realize it and take action to resist him, the easier it will be.
If you have lost your mind, where is it? You really have not lost it—you have just temporarily given up control of it, but you can regain it quickly by applying these steps. Purpose to do each one in a prayerful attitude, because we have no success at anything without God’s help. However, when you pray, resist asking God to give you something that He clearly has stated in His Word that you already have. Instead of asking for peace, thank God that you have peace and ask Him to help you walk in it.
Along with the steps previously mentioned, here are some important ways you can prevent mental overload and live the joyful, peaceful life Jesus died to give you:
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Stay Strong
—Staying strong is much easier than allowing ourselves to get weak and in trouble. One of the ways we stay strong is to spend regular, quality time with God. Spending time studying God’s Word and talking with Him prepares us for whatever may be waiting for us in our circumstances.
We are not strong enough for any success in ourselves, but we are strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (see Ephesians 6:10).
If we have a strong immune system, we will avoid a lot of sickness, and likewise, if we have a strong spirit, it will sustain us in times of pressure (see Proverbs 18:14).
•
Know Yourself
—It is wise to know your capabilities and limitations. I know that at this stage of my life I cannot handle as much as I once could and remain peaceful, so I just don’t try to do it. Know yourself, and be satisfied to be yourself without comparing yourself with anyone else. I have friends who can do much more than I can, but I am not required to try and do what they do. We are responsible only to do what God wants us to do. He never puts more on us than we can bear!
Don’t feel like a weakling if you need to say, “That is more than I can handle.” It is a wise person, indeed, who knows himself well, and does not push himself to be someone he is not!
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Examine Your Thoughts
—Are your own thoughts draining your energy? If so, change what you are thinking, and think happy thoughts. Most of what makes people feel they are on overload is a fear of some sort that manifests in worry, anxiety, and pressure. Meditate on this: God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind (see 2 Timothy 1:7). God’s Word does contain more power than your worry. You will sense yourself calming down as you focus on God’s Word, which truly acts as medicine for the soul.
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Talk Yourself into a Change
—Should you feel that you are losing your mind, tell yourself that it is a lie and that you have self-control and a sound mind. Remind yourself that God is with you and that you can do whatever you need to do in life through Him.
Have you ever talked with a person who was upset, and you succeeded in calming them down through talking to them? You can do the same thing with yourself. We can talk ourselves into and out of being upset! When I am sensing a loss of peace or a wrong attitude in myself, I say, “I have to have a chat with myself,” and I do. It always helps!
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Don’t Get Discouraged
—If victory doesn’t come quickly, don’t get discouraged and give up. Some problems that we have are strongholds that Satan has had for a long time. They are areas he has dominated through his lies and deceptions, and those strongholds must be torn down. It takes time and a willingness to keep doing the right thing until you get a right result, no matter how long it takes.
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Don’t Feel Guilty
—When you have trouble keeping your mind in the proper condition, don’t feel guilty. Everybody has
trouble with wrong thoughts, and sometimes the trouble can be severe. As believers in Christ we are all growing in spiritual maturity and we may not be where we need to be, but thank God we are not where we used to be!
Piling up guilty thoughts on top of other troublesome thoughts can really make us feel that we are losing our mind, so remember to live in the “guilt-free zone” with Jesus, who has already paid for all of your sins.
Keep a good confession as you walk with God. Don’t say things like, “I feel like I am losing my mind,” or “I am going to lose my mind,” or “If this continues, I am going to lose my mind.” You will not lose your mind, and even if you misplace it, God will help you get it back.