When Your Worry Is No Longer Helpful
Take your thoughts captive.
The age-old advice you hear plastered across mainstream Christian media, right? The encouragement you know you need but never really learned how to implement. The thing you beat yourself up about for failing at. The powerful verse you read in the Bible or hear at church:
“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” -2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV).
Whatever this advice means to you in the current moment, let’s add an additional way to look at taking our thoughts and worries captive that changed my life and can hopefully make some waves in your own life. My hope is that I can make this verse in 2 Corinthians applicable for you.
The problem: You think too much, don’t you? Sometimes trapped in your head, on the same pathways of neural transmission… around and around you go, etching your worries deeper and deeper into your headquarters of cognition. Thinking about something multiple times makes it easier and easier little by bit for your brain to default to this thought. Is it OCD? Or is it overthinking? What is rumination after all? Why can’t I stop worrying? Why can’t I go to bed right away? Do you find yourself often or even just every now and then feeling like you’re in a prison of your own thoughts? Likely that you do, considering our brains are on a loop all day long of the same 70,000 thoughts that are mostly still yet repeated from the day before. (Cleveland Clinic 2022). Science. Gotta love the facts, guys. Do you even notice yourself in a spiral of negative thinking? I thought I was a pretty happy thinker myself until I began the journey of examining my thoughts. Oh Lord, did I learn how much I ruminate.
Worry. We don’t like to admit we do it. Some of us are comfortable sharing about our own struggles that we are currently worrying about maybe, but who here can lay honest pride to their ability to worry? And, oh! How intense the range of worries that exist! That deadline approaching, that event, that boy, that presentation, that career change, that family member, that sickness, that credit card, that trip, that drama, that bill, that project, and don’t even get me started on that credit score. Whatever your “that” is, you’ve got your own personalized loop of thoughts regarding it. You’ve got your own list of ways you’re going to try to fix it or ignore it completely.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Matthew 6:25-27.
God’s word tells us that He cares about these worries. His word tells us that we are divinely loved. His word tells us to stop the thoughts and trust Him instead. Have you ever stopped to think that this is actually a command? We have such an easy time not stealing our neighbor’s wife, but how well do you do at taking those ugly thoughts captive? Not the obviously sinful ones, more on THAT later too.. but the ones that tell you when you messed up. Or that you aren’t good enough. The ones that tell you your new friend doesn’t really want to spend time with you. The one that reminds you your pet is getting old. The thoughts that tell you what you said last night to that one person made a total fool out of you. That the debt will never get paid. That you won’t be able to afford groceries this month. The one that tells you that you’re destined to suffer from a horrible disease. The one that tells you about all the ways you are failing at parenting, being a daughter, or friend. The ugly ones. The ones you don’t want to think over and over at random times throughout your life… but you do.
Lies. The enemy’s lies. He taunts us all day long and we often fail to even notice it. Do you see it now? How those thoughts that you assumed are your own worries and fears are actually the devil trying to steal your joy? Amplifying your errors and twisting God’s truth. Trying to push you down. The enemy’s ultimate goal by doing this is to try to keep you from what God has called you to! He loves to breathe doubt into your heart. Bring all the fear to the surface.
Well, I am here to tell you that these thoughts are not always you. Brilliant, right? I thought it was me all along! Nope. This changes things for you, I hope. Does it help to you that you are not crazy? That this is normal? The devil hates us because we are children of God. This means that he’s going to lie to you. He’s going to try endlessly to highjack that beautiful, God-given brain of yours and play venomously with you on your subconscious fears. The devil has nothing to do but tear you down and all the time in the world to do it. He’ll hit you when you’re driving your car, when you’re at a social gathering, in the shower, at the dinner table, going on a walk, and especially right as you lay down at night to get your rest. All day long, the devil tries to play you with lies if you let him. The question is, what are you going to do about it? How will you fight back?
The thing I am about to tell you has been a real connection to knowing our victory in Christ for me. I had this revelation after a particularly tumultuous happening in my own life after being thrown into a wilderness season, questioning everything, but all the while drawing oh-so-near to God. Here’s the secret:
Don’t entertain him. Not for a second.
You know that teasy little boy on the playground that likes to menace around and make all the girls cry? That’s the best analogy I can think of for how much the enemy likes to toy with us. Truly it’s a lot more grave than some elementary rejection experiences, sorry to make light of what you’re going through, but you know exactly what I mean when I say that little boy gets a heap of joy from hogging all the toys in the sandbox and making Suzy’s lip quiver at the injustice. If she didn’t react to that evil, the boy would get no joy. My point is that the enemy thinks he has you. The enemy has studied you, yes, he knows you, your fears, how to make you doubt… but you need to know yourself right back at him. Sure, I’m afraid of this thing. But it’s not helpful to think about it. And God has my back. And God is a Waymaker. He will make a way, and I can trust Him to take care of ALL my worries.
It even goes beyond replying to the enemy’s nasty lies with “that’s not true.” Instead, simply disregard the entire thought with the premise of “that’s not helpful to think about.” Throw it into the little pink garbage bin in the pits of your brain and-don’t miss this-distract yourself immediately. Jump away from that topic and onto the next. If you have to, remind yourself, “God’s got this (I trust Him).” Or read counteractive Scripture over yourself. Even that I think, gives the enemy’s lie too much honor. Make him think he’s puny. Make him fear YOU instead. Unshakeable.
THAT THOUGHT IS NOT USEFUL. And move on.
I am sure this might sound crazy. I’m sure it might sound WAY easier said than done. “Just don’t” is not what I am telling you. I implore you to pray on it. I suggest you to meditate on it. Learn to observe your thoughts without responding to them. Surely you’re on this webpage reading this because you have been desperately searching for someone who understands. Or for someone who knows what to do. For help. I am a serial internet support searcher and it has supplied me well with a plethora of information and experience. I can admit that I need validation like no other, and the same is true for most humans who enjoy knowing their reality is real. This is your validation for you: You can do it!
Let go of it. We love to control things. We love to be in the driver’s seat. We love to ignore (or at least forget) the fact that we have a huge God with huge answers, with huge plans, and with huge love for us.
