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The Living Waters Podcast

Ep. 139 – How to Deal with Unwanted Thoughts

How can we protect ourselves from unwanted thoughts that fly into our minds without warning? Listen as the guys discuss the origins and dangers of some thoughts, as well as biblical insight on how to overcome them.

Show Notes

In today’s episode, the guys discuss how to deal with unwanted thoughts. Thoughts are silent, invisible voices in our heads that hold great power, and are often a window into what’s going on in our heart. Chuck Swindoll said, “Sow a thought, reap an action, sow an action, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap character, sow character, reap a destiny.” All of these actions begin with that initial thought. If you’re not meditating on truth through God’s word, you’re going to believe that lies are true. In the Bible, Philippians 4:8 states, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Our thoughts give birth to either things of the Lord or sin. When sin begins in our mind, we need to attack it and then reorient our thoughts to the Lord. Colossians 3:2 states, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” We need to set our mind on things above because every action starts with a thought.

What about the struggle with unwanted thoughts that pop into our heads? If we struggle with gambling, we avoid going to the casino. But these unwanted thoughts fly into our heads without warning. For these, we need to remember our thoughts are not just coming from ourselves, but also come from the enemy. There is a spiritual war going on right now over your mind. When these thoughts pop up, we need to not dwell on them but let them leave our head just as quickly as they came in. The issue is when we determine not to let them go. We fight these thoughts and spiritual warfare by attacking them with scripture. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He used the appropriate scripture verse for the right situation. When we fill our mind with God’s word, we can march forward on our knees and defeat the enemy. For those that are weighed down by their thoughts and shame, there is no condemnation in Christ. Ask Him to forgive you for insulting His integrity by refusing to accept His forgiveness.

The change in our thought life starts with an investment in knowing God’s word, which comes from meditating on scripture all day and night. It is also vital need to fear the Lord, because if you don’t fear God, then you won’t cast those sins or thoughts out. We can also do things to minimize these types of thoughts and fuel good thoughts instead. First, you can fill your mind with God’s truth. Next, you can resist temptation. Temptation will be part of our lives for the rest of our time on Earth, but we need to detox our mind and stop going back to the catalysts that trigger these sinful thoughts. Remember that we are the ones who allow thoughts to enter and stay in our minds. Your thoughts are not really unwanted if you’re consuming or looking at things that cause those thoughts to pop up in your mind. These thoughts will continue to torment you unless you change what you are consuming. The average person consumes 6,000 to 10,000 ads a day by their own choice. You can choose what you look at. If you are unsatisfied with your thoughts, is it possible that you’ve been starving yourself of the word of the Lord? Do not be self-deceived but know that the cause of our unwanted thoughts is likely due to ourselves. However, God can cleanse our minds and give us new thoughts if we ruminate on His word, attack these thoughts with scripture and choose what we consume each day.

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We would love to hear from you. How has the podcast encouraged you? Are there any subjects you’d like the guys to cover or questions you’d like them to answer? Email us at Podcast@LivingWaters.com and you may hear your feedback and questions quoted on the next episode!

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