I found myself angry and frustrated, rummaging around in my family’s basement. I was trying to find a few of my things from my apartment that I had recently packed and moved into my parent’s house. I just had this random urge to go down and start digging around for my boxes because I was desperate to find over the door hooks for my room upstairs. No joke. I huffed and puffed and yelled at the air and anyone in the vicinity because I couldn’t find a box with over the door hooks. Yikes.
That’s when you know you’ve hit a wall somewhere and somehow — there’s something you’re dealing with internally that you haven’t acknowledged or dealt with and now it’s surfacing in the most random of ways. Our bodies are externally sounding the alarm saying, “hey there, it’s time to check in on your thoughts and feelings, because it’s been too long!”
Have you ever tried denying or suppressing your feelings?
If we’re honest with ourselves, we know that we need to understand what’s going on underneath in order to figure out the health of our minds. Because our thoughts and feelings are like a thermometer for what’s going on under the surface.
If you’re like me, maybe you’re wondering what the Bible says about keeping our thoughts and feelings and keeping in check. Let’s walk through this one together.
Taking Thoughts Captive
Let’s start by acknowledging that we have the minds of Christ! We have the Spirit led ability to discern between the things of God and the natural things here on earth.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
1 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
If you’re anything like me, this verse has always been intimidating. Take every thought captive, I mean is that even possible? With the average person having between 12,000 and 60,000 thoughts per day, how in the actual world can you take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ?
And while that’s an important question, I want to dig even deeper.
My question for you, and for myself, would be this: How will we take every thought captive when we don’t even realize what we’re thinking?
How will we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work necessary to bring thoughts and feelings to light if we don’t make time and space for Him to? What I read here (with God’s infinite grace) is that we first need to stop denying and pushing down our thoughts or feelings and let them surface. Allow them to breathe.
We have to stop expecting to take our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ if we don’t even realize what our thoughts are to begin with.
The heart’s affect on your life
The heart has the potential to be a source for both good and bad. It often leads us to bad decisions, but it also is able to push us to feeling sympathy, compassion or love for one another.
God made it pretty clear in His word how important it is to protect your heart. Because He knows that our thoughts, feelings and lifestyle stem from it.
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23
I’m guilty of using this scripture over and over again in my life incorrectly. I’ve used it when I’m scared of getting attached or hurt from loving someone else. I twist the words to fit how I feel in that moment.
Guarding your heart doesn’t mean shutting it off completely and only letting specific people in that you deem worthy. It means letting all people in because you have been let in by God. The Bible doesn’t teach us to avoid risk or loss, and in my opinion, this is an extremely dangerous misquote.
So, the question that I asked when I found out that I had been using that verse and hearing it wrong all of these years — so what does it mean?
The Hebrew thinkers thought that the heart wasn’t able to be separated from the visible outward life. Which means that your heart is considered “united” with that of the body and other areas that make you and I up. What we do on the outside in deeds, words, reactions, all flow from the state of our hearts.
God’s instruction then is that this verse does not give us permission to guard ourselves from hurt, but rather that we’re meant to guard our hearts by fiercely protecting God’s truth and love that is found there.
Our hearts become the home for God’s truth and also His love for us. Keeping this guarded means that we are actively feeding ourselves with His word and warding off any attempts of evil to infiltrate our heart. Otherwise, we are at risk of forgetting His words and love for us because of the deceit that tries to filter through.
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.”
Proverbs 4:20-22
Jeremiah wrote that the heart is the most deceitful thing above anything else (Jeremiah 17:9). Unless we make certain that we’re actively guarding it with the Truth of God above all things, we will fall prey to evil and the opposite of truth for our lives.
Underlying issues or beliefs
Our thoughts and feelings often mask deeper concerns or beliefs that we might hold without even realizing it. These can be unhealthy or dangerous beliefs or issues that we need to uncover and allow God to correct. These must be dealt with before given the chance to poison the rest of the body.
Consider what is behind those worrisome thoughts about how you’re going to pay rent next month, how you’re going to buy groceries, whether or not you’ll find a job, etc. All of which are important things in your life. I definitely don’t want to downplay these concerns.
However, when we worry about these things rather than giving them to God (1 Peter 5:7), we demonstrate that we don’t trust God to fully protect us or provide for us with our needs. We believe that we can control the situation better or find a way to control it that is more reliable than whatever God might do or not do. We show our distrust in His love, power, and promises.
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
Get to the root of your thoughts or worries that you try to push down. Figure out the why and you’ll often be led to an area where you need to surrender to God.
Takeaways
While most of us have been guilty of suffocating a thought or emotion instead of trying to understand it, we know that this isn’t necessarily a healthy behavior.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
I will leave you with this verse. Going to God in prayer should be our first choice in all things, not our last. Give your anxieties, fears, worries, or needs to Him and ask Him for the things you need. God will protect us from our minds and emotions. His peace is beyond any understanding that we have, and he’s thrilled to offer it to you.
Figure out the thoughts and feelings you are suppressing and pray about them. Dig deeper into what they show you about your faith or thoughts towards God. Ask God for help in dealing with them.
Keep praying friend!
Questions to ask yourself for today’s post:
- Is there anything that you’re intentionally pushing down or denying in order to keep “going about your day” without having to stop and address/correct it?
- Are you guilty of not sitting down with your thoughts and allowing the Holy Spirit to correct them? If so, what ways can you incorporate this into your daily time with God?
- Have you found that you’ve used Proverbs 4:23 out of context to keep from getting hurt in love?
- Pray about whatever is on your heart or mind right now.
