Negative Thinking Part VI.
Breaking Free
Here we are; Part 6 of our Study on breaking the yokes of negative thinking. Thoughts that the Enemy has had us bound up in for years. Are you feeling liberated yet?!
* For those that are just joining us- this isn't a Fast from food or drink but a Fast from Thinking Negative Thoughts. Each day as you go through these you will spend that whole 24 hours refusing to partake of these thoughts. Please take a moment (as you have time) and look through the first 5 parts on Negative Influences that we have covered thus far. Go ahead; let's start breaking some yokes!
1. I'll never recover from this.
Today, we're fasting from the thought that says: "I'll never recover from this."
Whether it's a financial crisis you're in; or a divorce you've been through; or an unthinkable sin you've committed, don't ever give in to the thinking that you won't recover. Nothing's more discouraging than to think you'll never get out of the pain, debt or guilt you're in. So let's give up this way of thinking:
1. God always provides a way of escape. No matter what you're facing, there's a way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13) In fact, Jesus IS the WAY.
2. Get this in your thinking: WHATEVER GOD DID FOR THEM (in scripture), HE'LL DO FOR YOU! He is no respecter of persons. (Romans 2:11) Elijah recovered from financial crisis. Jacob recovered from marriage problems. David recovered from unthinkable sins, etc.
3. YOU SHALL RECOVER ALL! That's a promise that God made to David when he lost everything in his life. Stand on it. 1 Samuel 30:8 says, "You shall surely overtake them and you shall recover all."
4. IT IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU TO RECOVER. John 10:10 says, "The thief came to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus said, `I have come that you would have life in abundance, to the full, till it overflows!'"
5. Get your focus on praying for others' recovery. Job 42:10 says, "The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold."
THINK IT & SAY IT:
I will recover all that has been lost, stolen or missing from my life. I will recover from whatever sin or addiction I've faced. God did it for David, Job, Elijah—He'll do it for me. There is always a way — and I receive the wisdom from God to find it, now. I will! keep moving forward!
Jesus came to restore everything back to me, as God intended. I receive at least double back for everything that I have ever lost, in Jesus' Name.
2. I deserve what I am going through.
Well, by now you may be seeing some real changes in your life. Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks within, so is he." I know that God is setting up some wonderful things for your life and already I am rejoicing. I am excited for you! And stay with me, if you haven't seen things turn yet then hold on - they will!
Today we are fasting from the thought that says: "I deserve the pain I'm going through." Many people remain hurt and defeated in life because they think they deserve what's happened to them. People who have been abused, for example, often think it was their fault; or they had it coming. As a result, they accept their situation and never mount the faith to overcome it.
Let's CHANGE IT today!
1. Other people's actions are NOT your fault. REALIZE people do what they do because of their own inner pain, dysfunction and bad choices, not because of you. Stop feeling like the "mama of someone else's drama."
2. Embrace the truth that Jesus bore your pain. Isaiah 53:4 says, "He Himself bore our sickness and pain and with His stripes we are healed." If He bore it, you shouldn't have to!
3. Meditate on Romans 8:32--"He that did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him, freely give us all things." Through Jesus' sacrifice, you deserve everything He paid for you to have—spirit, soul, body, finances, relationships—all things!
4. Realize: torment, pain and suffering are from the devil! Do not think for a moment that God wants you to suffer in these ways. John 10:10 says, "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy..." Acts 10:38 says, "...Jesus went about...healing ALL that were oppressed OF THE DEVIL."
5. YOU DO NOT DESERVE THE PAIN AND SUFFERING THAT JESUS PAID THE PRICE FOR. RESIST IT! (1 Peter 5:8, James 4:7)
THINK IT & SAY IT:
I do not deserve the pain and suffering that Jesus already paid the price for. I did deserve it, but He took it; and I refuse to tolerate it or accept it another day in my life. What people have wrongly done to me is not my fault and not my burden to figure out. I am healed from it, by the stripes of Jesus. God freely gives me all things, because He did not withhold His own Son.
3. I feel like I am going under.
Today we're fasting from the thought: "I'm going under." So often these thoughts fill our minds - we might not make it financially, we might not make it through this marriage problem, through this sickness, this trial, etc.
Let's put an end to this way of thinking:
1. God is faithful. He didn't bring you this far to leave you now. Philippians 1:6 says He began this work in you, He will finish it.
2. Remember, faith finds a way. (Mark 2:4-5) God will always provide a way for you to make it.
3. You have favor. Psalm 5:12 says favor surrounds you like a shield. Revelation 3:7-8 says God will open a door that no man can shut. Expect favor.
4. Trust Him to carry you. Deuteronomy 1:31 says, "There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."
5. You have the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 2:16) With the mind of Christ, you will know how to make it.
6. Believe in the power of praise. James 1:2 says, "Count it all joy when you encounter various trials." Acts 16:25-26
THINK IT & SAY IT:
I am going to make it. I am going to make it financially. I am going to make it physically and I am going to make it spiritually. I am going to make it through whatever I'm facing. God brought me this far, He will lead me all the way. God will open a door for me to make it. He will carry me when I'm weary. I will praise my way through this and will find a way, in Jesus' Name.
You are going to make it! You are not going under!
4. We can't expect to experience the miracles in the Bible today!
Today we are fasting from the thought: "The power and miracles in the Bible are great, but we can't expect to experience those today!"
Many people also think: "We can't have the faith that Paul had or Peter, etc." These are thoughts that don't necessarily pop into our heads, but they are mindsets engrained in us, undermining our ability to believe for the impossible to become possible. If you adopt these beliefs, they will keep you living below your God-given privileges.
Let's overcome this today:
1. We HAVE, right now, the same faith that the early apostles had. IN 2 Peter 1:1 Peter writes, "...to those who have received like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and our Savior Jesus Christ."
2. Understand the source of this faith and power in our lives: the righteousness of God. This is a free gift (2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). It's not because of the times we're living in, it's because we are the righteousness of God.
3. There's nothing He's holding back from you. 2 Peter 1:3 says, "His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness."
4. The power and promises are already yours. 2 Peter 1:4 says, "He HAS GRANTED TO US His precious and magnificent promises..."
5. You have the same Spirit that Jesus had when He was in this world—Romans 8:11.
6. Expect to walk in this power. In John 14:12 Jesus said, "The works that I do, shall you do also, and greater works shall you do..." He also said in Mark 16, "these signs shall follow THOSE WHO BELIEVE..." BELIEVE TODAY!
THINK IT & SAY IT:
I have received faith OF THE SAME KIND as the apostles, because I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. He has granted to me already EVERYTHING pertaining to life and godliness. That includes every area of my life.
God's power and promises are already mine. I expect to walk in His divine power, through His divine nature working in me today, in Jesus' Name."
5. Get Rid of Backward Thinking
Today, we're fasting from backward thinking. So often, we start our day, or our prayer with WHAT WE DON'T HAVE. Around the world today, people are focused on what they don't have, and trying to figure out how to get it. This is what I mean by "backward thinking."
Anything good that is going to happen in our life today, starts with getting our minds on what we ALREADY have, not what we don't have.
Let's fast from this mindset:
1. THINK BACK, but NOT backward. Every day, we need to THINK about the things God has already done. In Psalm 103: 1-5 David said, "...forget none of His benefits—He pardons your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion..." Make a list—it will change how you look at your life.
2. Focus on the `prayer of thanksgiving'. Start EVERY prayer thanking God for what He has already done for you. (Philippians 4:6-7) This creates FAITH ENERGY. As you reflect on what God has specifically given you already, it awakens your ability to believe for more.
3. Meditate on Philemon v. 6. "Your faith becomes effective, as you acknowledge every good thing already in you, through Christ Jesus."
4. Step out of the comparison trap. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says, "when we compare ourselves with one another, we misunderstand life." Confusion, misunderstanding, jealousy all set in when we measure ourselves with what others have or do.
5. Develop selective memory. Think back ONLY on the good that has happened in your life. FORGET the pain. Let go of the hurts and losses you've suffered. (Philippians 3:13)
6. Expect God to make up to you the years that have been lost through your pains, mistakes and wrong ways of thinking. In Joel 2:23-25 God said, "I will restore the years that have been devoured..."
THINK IT & SAY IT:
I focus my prayer and start my day with what God has already done in my life. I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise, shall continually be in my mouth. I am already complete in Jesus Christ.
I give up comparing myself to others, and I expect God to make up to me all that I have lost through years of backward thinking, In Jesus' Name.
