(from #Streams of Living Water for a Thirsty Soul)
“…the Lord was my stay. “Psalm 18:18
We determine in our heart that we will let go of the negative and dwell on the positive. We declare with the Psalmist :”I will yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11). But our feelings still don’t agree with our determinations. We’re still plagued with negative thoughts and the battle to let go of them is hard. What can we do?
When we give our negative thoughts to God and they come back, we have to immediately give them to God again, and then turn our thoughts to something positive. If the thoughts come back two minutes later, we have to give them to God again–immediately. And again turn our thoughts to something positive. If the thoughts come back fifteen minutes later, we have to repeat the process–and keep on repeating the process every time negative thoughts come back into our mind. The important thing is to immediately turn them over to God–not entertain them in our mind awhile first and then decide to give them to God.
We have to “stand fast in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1) against negative thoughts. He is our rock, our fortress, our deliverer, our strength, our buckler, the horn of our salvation, and our high tower (Psalm 18:2). “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies [negative thoughts]” (v. 3). Continually giving negative thoughts to God and then concentrating on praising Him is the best way to restore our trust in Him. He is our stay (Psalm 18:18).
Prayer: Help me, God, to apply Your discipline to overcome these negative thoughts. Please remind me to immediately give them to You and to turn my mind to the positive and to praising You. Thank You, my Deliverer.
Related verses: Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 34:7; Isaiah 12:6; Psalm 18:31-33
Speak Your Mind