Negative thinking entraps us in unhealthy mental and emotional patterns. Vulnerable emotions such as anger, shame, anxiety, or resentment alert us to what we are thinking and believing in the moment. This week I’m thrilled to chat with Sarah Geringer about her book, Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus. Enter to win a copy of Sarah’s book by leaving a comment at the end of this post! Drawing will be on Friday, June 14th.
Watchman Nee once wrote that “no life can be truly changed without a change of mind.” So true, isn’t it?
Every change in our life begins with a thought. I believe this is one reason why our thoughts are so important and powerful. But changing our thought patterns takes intentional effort and often hard work.
Enjoy some highlights from my Q & A with Sarah on this practical and important topic that we all struggle with on some level.
In addition to this post, you’re invited to join us on Facebook on Friday, June 5 at 12:00 pm for a live discussion with Sarah focusing on dealing with anger.
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Why do we struggle so much in our thought lives?
Our thought lives form the structure for our words and actions. Every problem we have begins in our thoughts. Since no one else knows our thoughts except God, we think we can hide them. However, what you think in your inward life inevitably spills out onto your outward life.
You can either be defeated in your thought life before you ever take action, or you can transform your thought life with the power of God’s Word. You can have victory in your thought life struggles by meditating on the truths in Scripture.
How do our past experiences relate to current thought-life problems?
Many of us experienced hurt and difficulties in our past that influence our lives now. For example, my parents divorced when I was four years old. The fallout from their divorce has affected nearly every area of my thinking.
As a little girl, I began dealing with negative, anxious, fearful, and critical thoughts in response to the wounds the divorce caused. These thoughts carved paths in my conscious and subconscious mind that still tempt me today.
I have used the power of Scripture to reroute those thought life paths. [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#negativethinking #transformyourthoughts”]You can reroute your own thought pathways by using key scriptures in specific problems.[/tweetthis]
What does spiritual warfare have to do with thought life struggles?
Satan wants to distract, discourage, and defeat us on the battlefields of our minds. If he can do this, our words and actions will automatically follow his will instead of God’s will.
He sets up strongholds, or power centers, in the pain points of our past, then capitalizes on them in our current thought life struggles.
[tweetthis]When we fight back with the truth of Scripture, we can dismantle those spiritual strongholds.[/tweetthis]
By repeating key verses over and over to yourself, you can break the power Satan may have held over you for decades in your thought life struggles.
How can Christian meditation help someone conquer thought life problems?
Christian meditation is simply focusing on a scripture and thinking about it with intent. The more you focus on God’s Word through meditation, the more you learn about God’s will for your life.
You can apply scriptural truths directly to specific thought life problems and experience freedom. For example, if you struggle with painful thoughts, you can meditate on verses about God’s comfort.
By repeating these verses every time you experience a painful memory, you can begin to reroute the neural pathways in your brain. When you do this over and over, you begin to think differently because God’s truth replaces the lies planted by your enemy Satan.
How does a transformed thought life help someone develop a closer relationship to God?
When you meditate on God’s Word, you are hiding it in your heart and mind. As you learn God’s language of truth and love in Scripture, you will learn more about his character and his ways.
Christian meditation helps you worship God and cultivate a closer walk with him. When you experience the freedom that comes with thought life transformation, you will realize that God deserves credit for setting you free.
Scripture meditation will inspire your adoration, praise and thanksgiving to God. It has the potential to take your faith to new heights in only a few minutes every day.
How has Christian meditation helped you be victorious in spiritual warfare?
I chose 17 areas of thought life struggles to focus on in my book, because I have experienced all of them at different points in my faith journey. In each chapter, I tell stories about how God set me free from a certain thought-life struggle such as guilt, impurity, idolatry, and regret.
When I was struggling in these areas, I did not experience victory until I began meditating upon scriptures that directly counteracted those problems. As I meditated, I recognized how Satan tempted me with the same unproductive thought paths again and again. By replacing his falsehoods with the truth of God’s Word, I experienced freedom for the first time.
Now, I know to fight back immediately with Scripture, just like Jesus did when he was tempted. Through Christian meditation, I have key scriptures in my spiritual arsenal to fight back the moment I’m attacked.
What do you want readers to learn most from Transforming Your Thought Life?
I want readers to learn about the power God’s Word gives us to break free from spiritual strongholds. Many of us have Bibles in our possession, but do not understand how God’s Word literally holds the solution to all our problems.
By internalizing God’s Word in our hearts through Christian meditation, our thought lives can truly be transformed for good.
You can see why I wanted to share Sarah’s book with you! Hope you can join us for the live broadcast or the replay of my interview with Sarah as we talk about dealing with anger in healthy ways. This topic is highly relevant to the challenges our nation faces today.
My Thoughts on Sarah’s Impactful Book
In Holy in the Moment, I devote a chapter to the importance of making healthy and whole choices with our thoughts. In this key area of struggle for each of us, Transforming Your Thought Life is a valuable and in-depth resource.
I loved the way Sarah dived head first into harnessing our thoughts with the life-giving practice of meditating on God’s Word. Sharing many of her own struggles, she tackles challenges from her life with authenticity and courage.
Her candid stories draw us in, helping us to see our own struggles as we recognize our need to filter our thoughts through the lens of Scripture. Sarah guides us closer to God, demonstrating how Christian meditation can transform our thoughts and heal our wounds.
About Sarah Geringer
Sarah Geringer writes and speaks about finding peace in God’s Word. You can follow my blog at sarahgeringer.com or find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and Goodreads. Enjoy Sarah’s 14 Day Guided Meditation and Scripture Writing Plan for Overcoming Anxiety.
Win a Copy of Sarah’s Book
What area of your thought life challenges you the most? Leave a comment to enter to win a copy of Sarah’s book.
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So glad you're here. I help busy women—gals like you— build healthy habits for living well with biblical wisdom and practical steps to deepen your faith, increase your hope, and thrive in your purpose.
Looks like a great book thanks for giving us a chance to win.
You’re so welcome, Noelle! I love the way Sarah went into depth in each kind of thinking. This is powerful for healing and growing into the freedom and fullness of our identity in Christ. So glad you’ve entered by leaving a comment!
I’ve experienced many of the same benefits of meditating on Scripture as well. I love how God’s Word is life changing! I have found so much freedom from allowing His promises and truths to saturate my thinking. We all need this!
Yes we do, Kelly! God uses His word to transform our thinking in both simple and life-changing ways. I’m so glad you have experienced this profound blessing! Thanks for sharing your testimony!
Thank you so much for such an inspiring blog that reminds me of how to fight the daily battle that begins in the mind with negative thoughts ruminating. I would love to read Sarah’s book and gain insight on how she fought to overcome and find the peace that only comes from focusing on Christ and the Word of God. It’s frustrating to want so badly to make a difference in the Kingdom and be met with such opposition but Jesus led the way when He had to immediately face trials in the desert after His baptism. So thankful we have a Savior who understands.
Amen and amen, Jan! Focusing on God’s Word transforms our thoughts and encourages our hearts. I am also grateful He understands our struggles! You are entered in the book drawing! Thanks for joining us today!!
Thank you so much for the encouraging words. They mean so much. Great strategies for addressing issues too. Scripture is so powerful. Appreciate the opportunity to enter to win the book it looks so good. I’m excited.
Claire, it is good! I had the opportunity to be an endorsor for the book and read it early. Isn’t it fun to participate in a book giveaway! Thanks for joining us and entering the contest!!
This book would be perfect my new teenage sister! I love Sarah’s ministry and I know my sis would appreciate this book!
Yes, this is a great book! You’ll be interested to know that Sarah is currently working on a Transforming Your Thought Life for teens! You are entered! So glad you could join the conversation!
I needed this reminder today. Thank you!
Tracy, blessings to you! May God encourage you as you hold fast to His truth! You are entered in the drawing!
Just what I needed to hear as I contemplate writing my own book.
Serene, I’m so glad! Blessings to you as you write your book! Thanks for joining us today! You are entered in the book giveaway!
Powerful topic! Can’t wait to read this – it’s definitely on my list!
Sarah, yes this is a topic that is so important. Learning to be mindful of what I’m thinking about has been life-changing for me. Sarah does a great job unpacking this topic in her book. You are entered!
Thank you an opportunity to win Sarah’s book. Renewing of our minds is ongoing throughout each day. I find my thot life is a Big distraction to my prayer life. The practice of managing my thots with scripture will renew my mind and increase my prayer time!
Amen! I’ve experienced the challenge of distracted thoughts in my life as well. I can so relate! I know you’ll enjoy this book. You are added to the drawing!
I think that it’s an area where many people struggle including myself. I can be thinking very good thoughts and then suddenly I see something which makes me worried or annoyed, etc. I have to remind myself not to allow those thoughts to continue, because they usually are very unproductive and sometimes lead to depression or despair about this world and my life.
Gwen, you are so right! Our negative thoughts quickly spiral, leading to a lot of emotional fallout! The enemy knows how to attack us through making suggestions to our thoughts. Blessings to you! You are entered into the drawing. Thanks for joining us today!
I struggle with letting go of other’s negative comments about me. So GR8TFUL for this post and the reminder to meditate on God’s Word.
Yes, Friend! Always LOVE to see your name pop up in my comments!! I struggle with that too. It’s so easy to let negative comments become definitions and declarations in our thoughts. This is a hard one, for sure! Entering you in the drawing!
The greatest distance between two people is the distance between the mind and the heart. Jesus gave us the commandment to love one another. To me love is giving and involves trusting and being vulnerable to getting hurt because love involves pain. When you love someone and they are hurt you hurt too and you want to be there for them. Jesus is always there for us, He will never abandon or forsake us. He calms the storm and gives us His peace. To me God is love, and His Light shines in the darkness of our souls to give us the faith, hope and love to persevere and trust in His will for our lives when we lean on His understanding, when we put on the mind of Christ and abide in Him by meditating and praying on His Word to lead us out of the wilderness, out of our own selfishness and ignorance. I know He loves me and lives in me so I know He lives in others. I am thinking of a friend of mine who doesn’t believe and who blames God for things that have happened in her life and who can’t forgive herself for her own actions and who repeats her past because she is too busy with the noise and lures of the world. I pray for her conversion. I know that the Lord is the potter and that I am the clay and I find my only security in life is the faith and love the Lord has given me to press on, to seek His forgiveness and His mercy , to love Him and love others. Even if others don’t love me I know God loves me and has shown me how to love and to forgive others and myself. To live in the present and be thankful for His presence in my life, when I meet Him in His Word, in prayer and in the needs of others.
Joe, thanks for joining the conversation with such honesty and insight! I value the way you are expressing and trusting in God’s transforming love. You are so right on how our thoughts can get in the way of relationships, especially when we disagree! You are entered in the drawing!
This can definitely be a struggle for me too. I look forward to checking out this book for sure. A topic I’ve looked at many times before. Thanks Ginger!
Yay, Dawn! So fun to see you on the blog comments today! This is a great book and I know you’ll enjoy it! How are you? Adding your name to the drawing!
I have lived years under the darkness of the enemies ‘opinion’ of me and my own dark thoughts of my trauma and past! The Word says to ‘Take every thought captive for Christ,’ and I couldn’t do that until I found transformational healing in Christ, and through Reboot..I had to stop the bleeding of all the injury of allowing dark thoughts override what God says. He does not lie and Jesus died for it! I am so thankful for this interview and look forward to reading her book- Ginger, I refer to your book often!
Amen Gina! Your testimony is powerful and I love seeing how God uses you to encourage many! Rebook is a needed and transformative ministry for healing from trauma. Blessings to you, Courageous Heart! I’m grateful Holy in the Moment has provided wisdom to refer to often! You are entered in the drawing!
I am inspired and hopeful for transformation in my thought life! Thank you for sharing Sarah’s insight and book with us!
Hi Amy, love having you visit today! Thanks for checking out Sarah’s post and book!I know God is blessing your desire to experience transformation as you embrace His Word! You are entered!
This sounds like a wonderful book, thank you for sharing.
Hello there, Merita! How fun to see your name pop up here! It is a great book! Thanks for joining us and you are entered in the drawing!
Always transforming till the day I get promoted to heaven.
Amen, Sister! Have a great weekend!
I would love to learn more about this. My thoughts are consuming me and much more negative than I want them to be…encouraged that this may be what I need.
Jana, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Negative thoughts can be very consuming. Learning good strategies to combat challenging thoughts and process them well is so helpful. You are entered in the drawing!
Hi Jana, battling negative thoughts is such a challenge. They can be overwhelming. I hope you will find this book helpful. You’ll also great content on dealing with your difficult thoughts and emotions in parts of my book. I’m so glad you found encouragement here! Blessings to you!