Friday Guest Post

When I asked Heatherly to write a guest post for my blog I didn’t give her any direction. I just said write what is on your heart. She did and I hope her post touches your heart like it did mine. Heatherly is a breath of fresh air. She makes me think and makes me laugh. I know you will enjoy her too…

How to Rethink Your Thinking

Last spring, when I first visited Angela’s blog, I smiled… and sighed… and knew she was a soul sister, because anyone who entitles her blog “Rethinking My Thinking” already knows my story, already has a link to my heart journey.

The key in my healing, my learning to live with the daily battle that depression brings, was realizing that my very thoughts needed to be re-framed.

My ideas, my beliefs, my thoughts all needed to be revisited, re-evaluated. Whether they were about me, my journey, my faith, my beliefs, I realized that I had believed many lies; there was a faulty foundation somewhere in my early faith and as my life began to crumble around me, I was made aware of just how much “rethinking” I’d need to do.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. {Romans 12:1-2, NIV 1984}

I had read these verses many times in my young faith. I had heard mini-sermons on being a “living sacrifice,” countless encouragements on “not conforming to the world,” and seeming endless lectures on God’s “pleasing and perfect will.”

Suddenly, I was given the rest of the story- Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

I had believed lies. I had easily believed {whether because of my flesh, the enemy, or a combination of the two} that I was worthless, that I was not worthy of Hos forgiveness, that I couldn’t really serve Him because of my many flaws.

Have you been there?

I learned to examine every thought. And I learned to respond to the loudest lies… out loud… with Scripture.

Please know that I am one of the loudest people you will ever meet {ever}, but the thought of speaking out loud, of answering lies, seemed crazy to me. Insane.

But you know what? It worked.

That first day, I heard a whisper, “Why are you bothering? You’ll just mess up again and have to ask forgiveness again. They’re all so sick of hearing about your problems.”

I stopped. I considered. I remembered.

And I took a deep breath.

“Jesus, I know this is not from You. You have told me that there is no condemnation for those who are in You. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. You have created me with good works to do.”

The thoughts were silenced.

My heart leaped. I continued to dwell on the scriptures that I had been given. And I started to cry.

And I started to beat myself up,

“Why hadn’t I known to do this before? Why had I wasted so much time wallowing in the pit when freedom was so nearby?”

Seriously. From momentary victory to systematic self-pity. Old habits die hard.

The Holy Spirit whispered to my soul the very words I had yelled moments ago, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Yes. Right. Yes.

I began to carry an index card of that verse {Romans 8:1, NIV 1984} in my pocket. If I was in a place I couldn’t speak to the scripture, I would touch the card, breathe deep, and allow the truth printed there to wash over, hitting my reset button.

Rinse. Repeat.

It’s been over a decade since those first terrifying days when I allowed myself to believe there might actually be happiness in my future- maybe even joy.

It took quite some time.

It still takes time.

But I learned an important lesson- God’s voice may not always be louder than the voices around me, or the thoughts circling my mind, but His truth will always place my thoughts into the proper perspective, and allow me to see His heart for me.

There are days, when I am tired, when I am emotional, or when I’m not spending enough time in His word, that the lies threaten to crowd out His voice. But I take a deep breath and I draw on the scriptures I’ve hidden in my heart for just such a moment.

What about you? Do you have a go-to scripture? A verse that helps you in a clutch? One that motivates you to stay immersed in His word and helps you to re-evaluate your thoughts?

Heatherly Lane Sylvia is a mom, wife, homeschooler, speaker, aspiring writer, and apprentice grace-giver. Her greatest desire is to live a life following after God with abandon, and she hopes to be a blessing to as many people as she can while she figures out exactly how to do that. Het is passionate, loud, addicted to books, and loves her friends, old and new. She adores the blogosphere and would love to “meet” you there. She’s also pretty sure that blog comments and tweets  are her love language. Check out her blog A Pinkdaisy Life or follow her on Twitter @Pinkdaisyjane