Relief For a Running Mind
By Steve Leavitt and Buddy Vaughn
Eight Strategies to Take Your Thoughts Captive & Get Relief Now!
Your mind is racing. The all consuming feeling of worry and guilt is so
heavy in you, on you and around you feel like it’s almost a monster or
separate being that is attacking your heart, mind and spirit. It’s a
secret battle. The load is too heavy to carry but you don’t know any way
out.
You could never tell anyone what you are thinking right now. The
thoughts are too graphic, too vile or so silly that you feel like
someone would laugh in your face if you told them. Or they would judge
you as the worst person on earth...if they only knew. If they only knew
what you were really thinking even the people who are closest to you or
love you most would shutter with shock, horror and disbelief that you
could ever “think” such a thing. Surely they would think differently of
you or see you in a different way if they only knew.
Maybe you have done something that you are sure is a sin. You wonder if
you crossed the line. You worry you have disappointed God. You are
putting yourself through “self condemnation” because you need to pay a
price for what you have done. You feel so bad about yourself, there
must be some penance you have to pay. You just need to figure out what
exactly. Until then you will just keep adding to your personal mountain
of guilt.
Or it could be that you are sure you are dying. You have all the
symptoms. Something does not feel right. You’ve looked it up on the
internet. You know it has to be. It’s going to be horrible. You don’t
want to die. You are too young, too many people need you. You just
can’t stop your mind from thinking about it or your heart from racing.
You just wish you knew if it was true or not but you are too scared to
find out.
You are going to need to exchange truth for a lie. You are going to need
to replace your thoughts with His thoughts. Remember your feelings can
lie to you. Your head can lie to you. Satan who is the Father of lies
wants to accuse you, confuse and bombard you so that you cannot discern
the truth and Freedom Christ has for you from what you are feeling right
now. So get ready to take in the truth. For it shall surely set you
free. Rest your mind and get ready to hear what the truth is. Here we
go.
Step 1: Identify Your Obsession.
You need to distinguish between what your obsession is and who you are
as a person. It does not define who you are; it’s just something you
struggle with. We have pointed to how you may be feeling but let’s look
at some common or classic obsessions. According to the Obsessive
Compulsive Foundation here are some typical ones. Dirt, germs and
contamination; A fear of acting on violent impulses. Like worrying you
want to kill someone or those close to you. Feeling overly responsible
for the safety of others; Having abhorrent religious or sexual
thoughts. Unfounded fear of having a serious illness. Some compulsions
would be repetitive behavior such as hand washing, bathing, counting,
checking , touching, or arranging. It could be you continually focus on
a minor body defect or you are unhappy with something about your body
and you can’t stop thinking about it.
What you are going to learn is that your Obsession does not affect how
accepted you are in the eyes of God. You are not a bad person because
you obsess, no more that a person with Diabetes is bad because they
struggle with the body’s inability to create insulin. Your obsession is
not you. It’s simply a struggle you need to get tools to learn how to
deal with.
Step 2: Understand you are not alone.
First, it’s not just you that struggles with these intrusive thoughts.
Again according to the National Obsession Compulsive Foundation, at any
one time in the US at least 5 million people are struggling with the
symptoms of OCD. In fact according to USA Today people missed twice as
many days from work last year from depression and related issues than
any other chronic disorder….even cancer. You are not crazy. You are not
going to go crazy. Other people struggle with the exact same thought,
fears and worries you struggle with.
Second and more importantly is the fact that your Heavenly Father also
knows you are hurting and He is here to help. He is in your corner. He
knew from the beginning of time that you would need His help and He is
here to give it you. He is not going to leave you to suffer alone in
this.
God can give you comfort when we learn how to receive it. Notice it’s
nothing we can do, but open our heart and minds to receive the comfort
of God. And then one day, when you see someone else struggling, you get
to be a part of God touching someone else’s life. Right now you may not
feel like it could ever happen. But I’m here to tell you it can. It’s
God’s design. In fact it’s why we are here.
Step 3: When your thoughts are running away with you… then you need
to run to a safe place.
When you are in the moment where your thoughts have you trapped.
Remember there is safety and shelter in God. Turn your focus from what
you have been thinking about and begin to zone in on light of God’s of
word and who He is. In the New King James version of the Bible let’s
look at Psalm 57 to see what this looks like. It reads “Be merciful
to me, O, God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in you.” There
is perfect safety and perfect peace there. You can run to Him until the
calamities have passed you by. Until the thoughts subside. It’s good to
know that there can be a future without these thoughts. But when they
come take refuge under the perfect protection of His wings.
We know what it is to cry. All we need to do is cry out to a God who
hears. God will answer by setting you free. When you begin to experience
freedom then you know it’s of God.
Step 4: Humble yourself.
It seems counterintuitive because you may have never felt worse about
yourself or lower. But the truth is feeling bad about yourself or
feeling low is not humility. Believe it or not you, like me, may have
spent the last several years of your life trying to figure your way out
of how you feel. But look at the focus. You are trying to do something
in your own strength that you were not meant to do. You are trying to
carry a load that is too heavy for you to carry. So let see what God’s
word says. I Peter 5:6 says “Humble yourself , therefore, under God’s
mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” When you come to
place where you can admit to God that the load is too heavy…then God can
lift you up.
Step 5: Root yourself in God’s love.
In Ephesians 3:16 Paul says “I pray that through His glorious riches
that He may strengthen you with power through His spirit, in your inner
being.” Wouldn’t you say that this battle you are going through is
happening in your “inner being”? Absolutely! We tend to suffer in
secret. Paul is saying we are weak but Christ is so strong that out of
His glorious riches He can strengthen our inner being. He prays that we
would get stronger. And it gets even better.
Romans 8:39 “Neither height nor depth nor anything else in all
creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus or Lord.”
Exodus 34:6 “And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, “The LORD,
the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding
in love and faithfulness.”
Step 6: Take your obsession, confession and sin to the one who can
take it away.
There are many times we experience so much guilt with our thoughts that
we don’t know what to do. We wondered if we crossed the line, we wonder
if we have sinned. Maybe you did sin. Many times when you struggle with
OCD you will never know. You run it the scene over and over in your
mind. Trying to pinpoint the exact moment when you could have messed up.
The good news is, that no matter what it is, if we confess it to Christ
He promises to forgive us and purify us, so that we don’t have to carry
the guilt anymore. It all stops with Him.
1 John 1:9” If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous.”
What do we do? Simply confess to Christ. What does He promise to do?
Purify us. From how much unrighteousness? All of it. It all stops with
Him. If you have done this and you pick it back up, then go back and
identify it for what it is. It’s obsession. Nothing more and nothing
less. It’s no longer sin. That was taken care. It’s no longer your guilt
to carry. You have been purified. Just take it back to step one.
Separate and identify your obsession from who you are as a person. It’s
just a struggle.
Step 7: Learn the difference between Obsession & Self Condemnation
and Conviction and God’s loving Correction.
The obsessive mind is always searching for something to feel bad about.
It’s just the way it works. It always seems to be hunting for something
to hook into to make you feel that overwhelming, all consuming, joy
stealing guilt. For a Christian who struggles with Obsessive
thoughts that often relates to “I think I sinned when…”, “My thoughts
are so revolting surely I sinned against God when I thought…”. One of
the most important tools you can use is to learn the distinction between
Self Condemnation, or you taking in your own hands to convict yourself
of sin and God’s correction for actual sin in your life. In reality they
are worlds apart.
Galatians 5:1 says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke
of slavery.”
Are you enjoying Freedom in Christ? If not, what yoke of slavery are you
being burdened with? If you are trying to be your own Holy spirit, you
are going to be miserable. Because it is for Freedom that Christ set us
free. Think about it. Christ experienced all the pain and suffering on
the cross – so you could be Free. Free from fear, free from guilt, free
from the judgments of our sin, free from the law, free from slavery,
just free. What an amazing gift. Take hold of it. Don’t let it go. Thank
God for it. Enjoy it and praise Him.
Step 8: Praise God in the midst of your Fear and Find Freedom.
Remember that when you are having an anxiety attack and your body feels
like you are dying that it is actually the physiological response to
anxiety. You are afraid of dying and your body responds physically.
First your brain is sending signals saying that you are in danger and
should be afraid. In reality you are not in any danger at all it just
feels like it. Your mind is saying we either need to fight or run for
our lives. It tells you that something is very wrong and doom is
eminent. The simple truth is you are completely safe. You are going to
be just fine.
While many people may worry from time to time that minor physical
symptoms may be a sign of a serious illness.
People with hypochondria often have other struggles; two thirds of
patients also have major depression, panic disorder,
obsessive-compulsive disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder.
It is very common for this person to have unknown pains throughout you
body, feel like you are having a heart attack, or have the sensation
that you are about to pass out. These feeling are real but are not
true. The truth is, if you look at it statistically, you are going to
be OK.
Let’s look at how to begin to calm these fears. You begin by training
yourself to believe the truth in these moments.
Psalm 34 NIV is a great road map. In Verse 1 it says “I will extol
(NAS bless) the Lord at all times. His praise will continually be in my
lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and
rejoice”
Are you afflicted? Sure you are. You are afflicted with fear. This verse
was written just for you! The pain and fear is very real. Then this
scripture says to “rejoice”. But how can I do that? Your fears seem so
overwhelming. You begin by praising God for all He has done so far in
your life.
Here is something to really rejoice about. Psalm 34 verse 4 says “I
sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
God can deliver you. From every single one of your fears. You will gain
power over your anxiety when you no longer fear it.
Another strategy is to say “bring it on” “let’s get this over with so I
can “go on”.
Almost every client I have ever seen for this has been to the
cardiologist or ER thinking they are having a heart attack.
Most of my clients get prescribed and anti-depressant (SSRI), usually
Lexipro, and an anti-anxiety medication (Benzodiazepines) like Xanax
(Alprazolam), Klonopin (Clonazepam) or Ativan (Lorazepam).
While I am generally against the use of medication to take the place of
spiritual health and healthy thinking, I do believe the medications are
extremely helpful in the beginning to help get your head above water.
Especially an anti-anxiety medication that give you control over your
anxiety.
Here are some more excellent verses you can meditate on to comfort you
in the mist of your anxiety and obsessive hypochondria.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
drink; or about your body…
God is going to take care of you!
Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and
my portion forever.
God is going to be with you today, tomorrow and forever!
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear,
but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,
Father."
Just like a Dad rushes to help a child who has hurt themselves, we can
cry out to God when we are hurting.
2 Timothy 1:7 For
God did not give us a spirit of timidity (fear), but a spirit of power,
of love and of self-discipline.
The fear you have is not what God had in mind for you.
Hebrews 3:5-6
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you
have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I
forsake you." 6So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will
not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
God is in your corner. He knows right where you are at and what you will
face today.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The key that unlocks the door to peace starts with prayer.
1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift
you up in due time.7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for
you.
The creator of the universe, who hold the stars in His hands, cares for
you!
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this article in expanded version
Here is a very brief description of
the fundamentals of overcoming anxiety
1. "We do what we do because
we believe what we believe"
2. Most of the fears, worries
and anxieties we have result from the lie's we believe.
A. Figure out what lie's you believe
Examples:
1. If some one rejects me, I am un-loveable.....that's a lie
2. If I don't have enough money, my world will fall
apart.....that's a lie
3. If I lose my spouse or children, my life is over.....that's a
lie
4. If my spouse or children don't love me well, I will be
destroyed....that's a lie
5. When I am not perfect, God does not love me as much......that's
a lie
6. I must control everything or I may experience the unknown,
which is bad....that's a lie
B. Satan is the father of lies and he will use them to destroy
you. God is a God of hope and truth and will give you peace and
joy with any circumstance. Have big faith!
3. After you sort out what
lie's you believe, counter them with God's truth. Then run that
through your mind over and over again. Replace the lie's with
truth!
Here are the 20 most common lie or thinking errors
people believe by Dr. Paul Carlin's book Change your beliefs...Change
your life
1. The Disqualifying Lie:
