Words of LIFE:Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions

Words of LIFE


Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions
with Dr. Caroline Leaf

"We take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5b)

How many times have you replayed a conversation in your head until it
stirred emotional pain or stress in your life? Did you know that
stress is the reaction your body has to your thoughts?

Researchers say that 87% of the illnesses that plague us today are a
direct result of our thought life. What we think affects us physically
and emotionally. We are in an epidemic of toxic emotions and that is
why I teach people about the anatomy of thought in my book Who
Switched off My Brain?

Your brain speaks to your body and your body speaks to your brain. The
mind-body link is an ongoing symphony of chemicals playing through
your body 24 hours a day. And the way in which we think will affect
the functioning of that whole electrical-chemical cycle.

God has built an incredible mechanism into our brain that gives us the
free will to accept or reject information. We have the option to
reject negative information from our thoughts before it gets the
support of damaging attitudes and emotions.

There are two groups of emotions that are polar opposites: positive,
faith-based emotions and negative, fear-based emotions. Each has its
own set of molecules and performs as spiritual forces with chemical
and electrical representation in the body.

Faith-based emotions are love, joy, peace, happiness, kindness,
gentleness, self-control, forgiveness and patience. These produce good
attitudes and thoughts.

Fear-based emotions include hate, anxiety, anger, hostility,
resentment, frustration, impatience and irritation. These produce
toxic attitudes and create a chemical reaction in the body that can
alter behavior.

Fear is the root of stress. Scripture says, "God has not given
us a spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind"
(2 Tim. 1:7). Fear-based thinking blocks the flow of healthy chemicals
and releases toxic chemicals that put you into stress.

When your thoughts move you into stress, your emotions attempt to
rule. Emotional perceptions are designed to create alertness to guide
but not rule, because they misinterpret truth. Stage one of stress is
the protective alarm that guides and helps you deal with dangerous,
threatening situations. It creates a sweaty palm, quickened heart
rate, adrenaline rush and a fight-or-flight emotional and biological
response.

Once the alert stressor is gone, your accelerated heart rate (through
narrowing of the arteries and increased blood volume) begins to return
to normal. However, if your body stays under the constant barrage of
negative stimulation, toxic waste begins to build up. An uncontrolled
thought life will create fear-based emotional and physical conditions
for illness.

In the second stage you enter acute long-term stress. Your mind and
body start feeling as if they belong to someone else. The chemicals
pump at will and in sequence through your body, and the first area
they attack is your cardiovascular system.

If the chaotic thoughts are not controlled at this point, your stress
hormones and chemicals never stop reacting. They move to a cellular
level where your body experiences tissue damage and system breakdown.
Internalizing wounded emotions at this point will eventually create a
volcanic buildup in your body allowing a seething mix of anger,
hostility and resentment. Suppressed emotional pain can also cause
lingering physical pain.

Hosea 4:6 demonstrates wisdom and insight about this toxic pathway.
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." If you
understand something, you can begin to control it instead of letting
it control you. Knowledge and understanding give you the tools. With
the Holy Spirit's power to remind you of God's truth, you
can begin to consciously control your thought life and deal with
harmful emotions.

According to the word of God, which is more accurate than medical
science, controlling your thought life brings health to your body. You
can live most of your life in a passive mental state or you can choose
to battle for your mind. It seems like an unfair battle because you
can't see what's happening, yet you can't escape the
battle. The frontline of the war is the toxic thought. It usually
enters through the five senses and if it is unchecked, it can become a
mental stronghold of the enemy. The finish line is the final battle
cry of victory when you take captive and overturn your toxic thoughts.

This Week
Jesus knows your thoughts. "But Jesus, knowing (seeing)
their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil and harbor malice
in your hearts?" (Matt. 9:4, Amplified) Acknowledge what Jesus
sees and renew your mind with God's Truth as you bring every
thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor.10:5)

Prayer
"Lord, thank you for revealing how my negative and destructive
thoughts are controlling me. I understand now how the enemy works with
my thoughts to make me live in fear and stress. I choose to live in
faith as you help me renew my mind with truth."

Dr. Caroline Leaf
http://www.lifetoday.org