Gaining the Victory in Our Thought Life
If we’re honest, we all struggle with our thought life—those thoughts that make or break us, and often shape us. So, I’m super excited my friend, Sarah, returns as a blog guest to talk about her new book, Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus.
By Sarah Geringer
Our thought lives form the structure for our words and actions. Every problem we have begins in our thoughts. Since no one else knows our thoughts except God, we think we can hide them.
However, what you think in your inward life inevitably spills out onto your outward life. You can either be defeated in your thought life before you ever take action, or you can transform your thought life with the power of God’s Word. You can have victory in your thought life struggles by meditating on the truths in Scripture.
Our Past Experiences
Many of us experienced hurt and difficulties in our past that influence our lives now. For example, my parents divorced when I was four years old. The fallout from their divorce has affected nearly every area of my thinking.
As a little girl, I began dealing with negative, anxious, fearful, and critical thoughts in response to the wounds the divorce caused. These thoughts carved paths in my conscious and subconscious mind that still tempt me today.
I have used the power of Scripture to reroute those thought life paths. You can reroute your own thought pathways by using key scriptures in specific problems.
The Battle With Our Thought Life
Satan wants to distract, discourage, and defeat us on the battlefields of our minds. If he can do this, our words and actions will automatically follow his will instead of God’s will. He sets up strongholds, or power centers, in the pain points of our past, then capitalizes on them in our current thought life struggles.
Satan sets up strongholds, or power centers, in the pain points of our past, then capitalizes on them in our current #thought life struggles. New #book on transforming your thought life by @SarahGeringer Click To TweetWhen we fight back with the truth of Scripture, we can dismantle those spiritual strongholds. By repeating key verses over and over to yourself, you can break the power Satan may have held over you for decades in your thought life struggles.
Conquering Thought Life with Christian Meditation
Christian meditation is simply focusing on a scripture and thinking about it with intent. The more you focus on God’s Word through meditation, the more you learn about God’s will for your life. You can apply scriptural truths directly to specific thought life problems and experience freedom.
For example, if you struggle with painful thoughts, you can meditate on verses about God’s comfort. By repeating these verses every time you experience a painful memory, you can begin to reroute the neural pathways in your brain. When you do this over and over, you begin to think differently because God’s truth replaces the lies planted by your enemy Satan.
Thought Life and Relationship With God
When you meditate on God’s Word, you are hiding it in your heart and mind. As you learn God’s language of truth and love in Scripture, you will learn more about his character and his ways.
Christian meditation helps you worship God and cultivate a closer walk with him. When you experience the freedom that comes with thought life transformation, you will realize that God deserves credit for setting you free.
When you experience the #freedom that comes with thought life transformation, you will realize that God deserves credit for setting you free. New #book on transforming your #thought life by @SarahGeringer Click To TweetScripture meditation will inspire your adoration, praise and thanksgiving to God. It has the potential to take your faith to new heights in only a few minutes every day.
Victory Over Our Thoughts
I chose 17 areas of thought life struggles to focus on in my book, because I have experienced all of them at different points in my faith journey.
In each chapter, I tell stories about how God set me free from a certain thought life struggle such as guilt, impurity, idolatry, and regret. When I was struggling in these areas, I did not experience victory until I began meditating upon scriptures that directly counteracted those problems.
As I meditated, I recognized how Satan tempted me with the same unproductive thought paths again and again. By replacing his falsehoods with the truth of God’s Word, I experienced freedom for the first time.
By replacing Satan's falsehoods with the #truth of God’s Word, I experienced freedom for the first time. New #book on transforming your #thought life by @SarahGeringer Click To TweetNow, I know to fight back immediately with Scripture, just like Jesus did when he was tempted. Through Christian meditation, I have key scriptures in my spiritual arsenal to fight back the moment I’m attacked.
Transforming Our Thought Life
I want readers to learn about the power God’s Word gives us to break free from spiritual strongholds. Many of us have Bibles in our possession, but do not understand how God’s Word literally holds the solution to all our problems.
By internalizing God’s Word in our hearts through Christian meditation, our thought lives can truly be transformed for good.
About Sarah Geringer:
Sarah writes about finding peace in God’s Word at sarahgeringer.com. She also writes weekly for Woman 2 Woman Ministries and monthly for A Wife Like Me and Devotable. You can find her devotions in the quarterly publication called Hope-filled Living for senior citizens. Several times per year, her devotions are published on Encouragement for Today (Proverbs 31 Ministries). Find Sarah on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Goodreads.
Sarah’s new book, Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus, released this week.
Places to order Sarah’s book are found here. I ordered mine and it’s on the way.
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Wow, this very thought, what Sarah wrote here about using “the power of Scripture to reroute those thought life paths” and how we “can reroute your own thought pathways by using key scriptures in specific problems” has been echoing through my own mind all week in some heart-to-hearts I’ve been having with my 11yo daughter, who is experiencing bullying and believing some of the lies. Great post, and the book sounds wonderful.
Jessica, I loved that thought as well. I’ve always believed and know the power of Scripture to change our hearts and lives. But now, to know that it also reroutes our thought life for all those specific problems we face.
This sounds like an incredible book. Our thoughts do go down the wrong path often so we must learn to take control. I love the idea of repeating a verse over and over to help.
Repeating specific Scriptures stood out to me as well, Yvonne. Excited for when my book arrives to dive in!
Powerful Post Sister, such truth and teaching in this one because we all deal with battles in our thought life. Even when we think we have it all together a wrench gets thrown in the mix and all of a sudden our thoughts are going wild and we lose sight of what God’s Word says. Thanks for sharing this post and God Bless
Thanks, Stephen. I prayed this post from Sarah would bless and encourage my readers. And, I agree 100%. We all battle our thought life because the enemy knows that’s where so many things start. Appreciate your insight and for commenting!
This is well said. God’s Word is a powerful tool in overcoming our thoughts just as the author has said.
Beth, it is God’s Word that helps us retrain our thoughts, words and actions. Appreciate you stopping by to add to our conversation.
I’m reading this book right now and am loving it! Thanks for sharing all your wisdom, Sarah, and for helping to spread the truth about overcoming the lies in our thought life!
Great, Emily. I’m anticipating my book arriving soon and can’t wait to start reading it. Thanks for telling us!
I think back upon all those years lost. All those years of being told I wasn’t smart enough, good enough, strong enough. While I tried to use them as fuel, to drive me to excel, what ultimately happened was detonation. Rather than powering me, my hidden thoughts, fears, uncertainties, and doubts came exploding out if fits of rage, explosive confrontations, and self-abuse. Had I only understood what God was trying to tell me; “My child, you are all I dream of. You are enough for I have chosen you.” I pray this book finds it ways to many hearts that are struggling to accept themselves. God’s blessings Ms. Sarah and Ms. Karen.
J.D., your comments are always so authentic and vulnerable. Thanks for that. I struggled with negative and critical thoughts in the past and they still attempt to hyjack my mind if I allow it. Just recently, the enemy used this tactic about my writing and the book I’m working on. Thanks for this thought from the Lord; “My child, you are all I dream of. You are enough for I have chosen you.” Wow! That’s powerful and comforting.
Great post, Sarah! This post makes me think about the advice: “Don’t believe everything you think”. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (diagnosed). Getting involved with church, and studying the Bible more, has greatly helped me (along with my wonderful husband, dogs, and art).
Robin, thanks for reminding us not to believe everything we think! Thank goodness and thank God our thoughts can really be changed to the truth of Scripture.
Thank you for your powerful post! God’s Word does, indeed, carve new neurological pathways in our brains, setting us free from the lies of the enemy.
Love your comment and confirmation! Grateful for the power of God’s Word to set us free from lies! Hallelujah, we’re free!
Karen and Sarah, thank you for sharing this post. We need to be reminded of the power of Scripture to overcome our own thoughts. This is what I want to remember >>> “By internalizing God’s Word in our hearts through Christian meditation, our thought lives can truly be transformed for good.”
Joanne, isn’t that a good word to remember?! I want my thoughts transformed for good!
God’s Word is such a powerful weapon. I have used these same truths – reading, praying, memorizing and meditating on scriptures – to help me break free from negative or destructive thought patterns. Thank you, Karen and Sarah, for sharing the news about this wonderful new resource. I’m praying that many people will read your new book and be strengthened through the power of God’s Word. God bless you!
Oh, yes, Melissa! God’s Word is our most important piece of equipment in fighting the enemy and his lies! Thank you for commenting and adding your input!
So much wisdom here for healing the wounds of the past and the current struggles of the day! Good insight here: Satan “sets up strongholds, or power centers, in the pain points of our past, then capitalizes on them in our current thought life struggles.” And with thousands of years of experience with the human heart and mind, the evil one is quite skilled at this. God’s Word is the weapon, the Sword of the Spirit, for defeating this formidable foe!
Melinda, the evil one is very skilled at the strongholds in our minds. While that’s disturbing, it’s also the reason we must have a battle plan against him. And what better way to overcome past and present struggles than to use God’s Word and meditation to kick all his lies to the curb. Maybe even run over them a time or two. 🙂
Meditating on scripture is such a powerful tool against negative and condemning thoughts, Sarah! Thank you for sharing about your book. I look forward to reading it! And I’m grateful that Karen shared your wisdom with us today! Pinning!
Thanks for commenting and pinning, Beth. Always appreciate your input and shares. I’m reading Sarah’s book now and it’s so amazing.
Meditating on Scripture gets God’s Word into my heart instead of just my mind. It changes me from the inside out.
Oh, yes, Jana. God’s Word is meant to transform our thought life and transform us! Thank you!
Congratulations on your book baby! What a valuable resource for helping us overcome those nuero-pathways that formed when we were young or before we knew Jesus.
Anita, thankful for the power of Scripture to overcome our baggage before we met Jesus.