Bringing every negative thought into captivity.
One of the keys to untangling the stronghold of anxiety over your life is to be aware or mindful of what exactly is making you anxious. The next key would be to take “captive your thoughts” and beliefs about this specific situation or to see the situation which is making you anxious from another perspective or in another light. Let me give you a case study example. You may have a friend who has suddenly stopped contacting you. You immediately believe this friend has ghosted you. What do I mean by “ghosted”?. Ghosted is a term used when somebody abruptly ends their relationship or friendship and all communication all of a sudden with you, with no reason or explanation and then disappears of the scene. Your thoughts are racing around in your mind, trying to unravel facts around why they stopped contacting you. You think about what you said or what they said. You wonder if they struck a relationship with somebody else and cast you on the way side. You feel hurt. You feel abandoned. You feel betrayed. You start to feel angry and tears are welling up in your eyes. Just thinking about this is making you feel physically tired. You retreat in front of the television and start binge-eating for comfort. Do you see how powerful your thoughts are driving you towards a downward spiral?
We said earlier that a method of untangling anxiety’s hold over your life, is to take captive your thoughts and beliefs about a specific situation or to see the situation from a different perspective. The key is to ask yourself ‘what if’?
Let’s go back to this same case study scenario of the friend who has suddenly stopped contacting you. What if they lost their iphone or their phone was stolen? What if they have a tight deadline at work and burning the midnight oil at both ends? What if they are cooped up in bed fighting off flu? What if it is not about you? What if this friend has got so much going on in his or her life, that they want to sort themselves out so that they can give you their very best? How are you feeling now? Are you starting to relax? Are your racing thoughts subsiding? Are you starting to feel more calm? Are you sighing a sense of relief?
The “taking your thoughts captive” principle comes directly from the Bible, in 2 Corinthians 10:5. This principle has helped millions of people overcome negative and toxic thinking which can spiral one’s anxiety out of control. Once we take our negative thoughts captive or pull it down, the thought loses its power to harm, deceive or destroy us. Let’s us put things into perspective by applying the “what if” scenario. Share with me examples of how you have applied this principle. Share with me your results. You are Victorious. You are an Over comer. You are more than a Conqueror.
