Thought Quotient

Struggling with any of these?

Read this update we recently read from Sara Delight of the band INHABITED:

THE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD

Stop and listen. Even right now there are many voices in your head. Even as you read the words I have written, my thoughts become a voice in your mind. Everyday if you stop and listen, you will realize there are even many conflicting voices. Positive, negative, truth, and lies. It’s imperative to recognize their existence in order to combat false realities that can easily rob us of the joy of living.

I wanted to give just a few examples to show you how destructive thoughts can easily become entwined in our everyday lives, without us even realizing it. Notice how, in each situation, our LIFE SOURCE becomes our enemy…it’s crazy.

CUTTING

If your struggle is with cutting, you will find yourself overwhelmed with an unbelievable heaviness, strong enough to pen you to the floor. Though they start with a thought, they take shape, and move you. Your own hands will find an object, any object, sharp enough to peel back your skin until you bleed.

Thoughts like this will drive you.. “you deserve it”, “you are worthless” “now look at yourself, you’re a mess. No one will look at you the same now that you’ve cut”, “this will make you feel better” and “no one understands you, cut, feel, bleed”.

The other day I felt I had this epiphany about cutting. Think about it. The enemy is out “to kill, steal, and destroy” God’s creation. Life is in the blood. It represents so much to God. He shed His blood for humanity that we might experience the greatest liberation available to mankind, our salvation. It is the great deception. When you cut, you are shedding your own blood in order to “free yourself of the pain”. Really think about that…wow…

LIFE SOURCE: Your Blood. It runs out of our body, which is symbolic of your life being drained from you, stolen.

GUILT

If your struggle is with guilt, thoughts will tell you how “worthless” you are, “God could never love you again”, “if people only knew who you really are they would never love you…”, and “you’re too far gone”. You can pick up these thoughts every morning, and carry them around like a backpack. Soon they will weigh you down so much that you can’t even hold your head up straight. They can easily lead to suicidal thoughts, and push you over the edge.

LIFE SOURCE: God, who was once your sanity becomes foreign. You run from Him, instead of to Him. Shame teaches you to hide. Your relationships eventually suffer, as you feel you can no longer look people in the eye. Depression becomes your closest friend.

It’s amazing how ONE thought given much attention can grow into the LOUDEST voices in our head. That’s why it’s imperative to RECOGNIZE THOUGHTS AS SOON AS THEY ENTER YOUR MIND so that you don’t give them attention.

EATING DISORDER

If your struggle is with an eating disorder, then the voices driving you will tell you to “starve yourself”, “you’re fat”, “you aren’t pretty enough”, “eat all that you want, just throw it up afterwards” and “you won’t be valuable until you lose more weight”.

Your life will be dominated by the scale. It will decide if you are happy or sad, if you are having a good day or a bad day. You will compare yourself to everyone that walks by, and no matter how thin you become, you will always wonder why you never measure up.

LIFE SOURCE: Food. It is what nourishes your body, gives you clarity of thinking, health, and energy. Without it, you will eventually die.

PORNOGRAPHY

If your struggle is with pornography, the voices will drive you into complete isolation where you begin to live a secret life. Lies and deception will become the only friends that know you well. Lust will promise satisfaction, only to leave you emptier, returning for more and more and more…it NEVER stops, until you stop listening and obeying…The love affair with lust will taint every pure relationship, and will eventually ask you to risk everything valuable for plastic nothingness, a false reality.

LIFE SOURCE: Relationships. As humans we thrive on community and love from people. Fantasy will replace real life relationships, and you will seek that above all else. You will sacrifice anything, and lie to spend time with fantasy. God is kept at a great distance. You fear to let Him back in.

There are a few more thought patterns I want to unmask, and will write more next week. I will also share with you the truths I have found in the Word that have literally taught me how to go to war, and battle against destructive thoughts. It’s very cool how applicable the Bible is to our lives…yes, our modern day lives. God created the mind, and His word is powerful to renew and change even our hearts. It’s crazy, but that’s the kind of God we serve…He is timeless…

Thanks for reading. LOVE. Sara Delight*