Taming My Crazy Mind

Does anyone else feel like they have a crazy mind? Mine is constantly going and often to places where it isn’t necessarily healthy for it to go. My husband and I were hiking one day and I asked him what he was thinking about. He replied, “I’m thinking about where I am going to put my pole next.” I had already done a review of the last few years, worried about my kids’ futures, and planned our next vacation and we were only 20 minutes in. What I would give to have a mind like his! I often feel like my mind is in a constant turmoil. I don’t know about you but I really struggle to make my mind mind!

The following verse worries me because my thoughts are often not the healthiest.

“Be careful what you think because your thoughts run your life.”  Proverbs 4:23.

The passage below talks about taking our thoughts captive.

 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to diminish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”   2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Until I started reading about and researching the topic, I didn’t really realize that you can control what you think about. Here’s a few things that I’ve done to try to tame my crazy mind with some success, so I thought I’d share. I definitely plan to keep at it!

• Recognize and reject Satan’s lies.
  Satan tempts and troubles us by putting ideas and thoughts in our minds, preying on our struggles and past hurts. Recognize and reject his lies and replace them with God’s truth (look for passages to support His truth). I know my thoughts are often coming from a place of not feeling like I’m good enough so I’m constantly struggling with thoughts based on that narrative. If I have an ungodly thought, I try to redirect myself and say, “get away Satan” and ask God for the strength to help me overcome. Helpful tip – you may want to say “get away Satan” to yourself😊

In Romans 7:19, 24, Paul says “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death.”

• Focus on the blessings around you.
  This includes eyes to see, ears to hear, family, friends, a place to live, nature and so many more things. Keeping a gratitude journal and writing down three things that you are thankful for each day can be helpful.

• Reflect on scripture.
  Here are a few verses that help me although admittedly I still struggle A LOT.

“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:2

“Finally, brothers, 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. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
                  

• Ensure that you are allowing time to nurture your soul.
  This includes reading the Bible, prayer, exercise, solitude and rest. These are good practices to train and transform our hearts and minds.

For those who suffer from crazy minds like mine, I hope this is helpful. Pray for me and I’ll pray for you as well that we can “set our minds on things above”.

REFLECT

• Think about what you think about. Begin to take your thoughts captive and redirect them to more positive thoughts!