Don't believe everything you think.

Irrational thoughts.

We all experience them.

We all suffer from them.

And too often we are mastered by them.

It makes sense. The devil will use anything and everything to gain control over our lives. If he can't master us by external events, why not try to vandalize our internal world?

Irrational thoughts usually surface from a deep rooted core belief that was created earlier in life. Some core beliefs look a lot like this:

"I am unlovable..."
"I will never be good enough..."
"I am unworthy..."
"I am unwanted..."
"I am defective..."

Many times these core beliefs are so deeply rooted that we don't even recognize them. The enemy is so crafty in using our pain and brokenness to instill these thoughts. Soon enough, he deceives us into creating these beliefs that sustain over the course of our lives. "My parents said I was a mistake.... Maybe I really am unwanted." "Some people make fun of me. I know I've always been different, but maybe I am defective." "He broke up with me. That's the fourth guy... What's wrong with me. There has to be something wrong with me."


It's as easy as that. And Satan is so good at it. His desires are to stunt our growth, make us question God's love for us, and ultimately led us into darkness.

How can we stop this madness?

I recently have been dealing and wrestling with this very question. I have so many jacked-up thought patterns that were established due to Satan's lies about my identity.

What can we do? Don't believe everything you think. I have had to stop and ask myself some questions when it comes to my thoughts:

1. Where did this thought come from? (past, people, failures?)
2. Is there even any evidence for this thought to exist? 
3. What does God think about this? What does He think about me?

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; new life has begun!" -2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus wants to make us brand new. He wants to renew our thoughts and attitudes (Ephesians 4:23). He wants to give us new core beliefs.

"I am fearfully and wonderfully made." -Psalm 139:14
"I am God's masterpiece." -Ephesians 2:10
"I am loved."-1 John 3:1, Ephesian 2:4-5, Romans 8:37-39
"I belong." -1 Peter 2:9 
 
Just as easily as we buy into Satan's lies, we can choose to listen to God's truth. To be very honest, this is a hard process that takes your time and energy, but produces so much freedom if you are willing to seek truth. Challenge yourself. Really dig deep. Pay attention to your reactions. When something goes wrong, what are your automatic thoughts? Listen to the words that come out of your mouth. What words do you choose to speak into existence? They are reflections of our heart and our thoughts.

God is faithful. He will never leave. His truth will stand firm, we just need to actually believe it.

Let's not be victims of irrational thoughts.

They have no power in the presence of truth.