Finding the Way with Anne Voskamp's The Waymaker

 

I love paths.  I named my blog and life coaching work Pathway to Peace because I think that's what we are all searching for -  peace.  Yes, peace, even more than happiness,  aren't we all just after the absence of the angst this broken world often wells up in all of us?  I know of only one way to circumvent that angst and that is with the word trust -  a trust that whatever happens in this world, come what may, somehow we will get through it to a place of resilience, a restoration, a return to our peace. The book, The WAYMAKER, shows us a way to get on that path to peace, using real life examples and a biblical foundation to find the way through the dark times that come to all of us.  I share some of its main ideas in hope that you will read the entire thing, with all the beautiful eloquence of Anne Voskamp, made complete with how she applies what she has learned through her own experiences of letting the Waymaker lead her out of the dark valleys in her own life. 

She uses the acronym SACRED as a signpost of how to travel - a habit of daily reorientation, to make sure we're on the right path.  She compares this to a habit like a nun's set of clothes that shows what we're devoted to, a uniform worn to make our way through this life, instead of just forging our own way forward.  

Stillness to know God.  Attentiveness to Hear God.  Cruciformity to Surrender to God   Revelation to See God.  Examination to Return to God.  Doxology to Thank God. 

When introducing the first signpost, STILLNESS, Anne makes this statement: "Our battle is to keep still - while God does the battle." She goes on to say that a Christian soldier learns this only after years of training, that we can't be still when we aren't driven by our own expectations.  God knows about trouble in Paradise.  Ps. 46:10 advises us of the importance of this first signpost:  Be still and know that I am God.  She talks about how we spend more time on stories on the news, and about Hollywood, and Facebook than we do with the Good News, trying to stay in His story.  She points out that Exodus 14:10-14 also shows us the importance of being still.  Moses said:  Do not fear.  Stand firm and see (watch).  The Lord will fight for you.  Be still.  She ends the section with this statement:  "If our first sin was to turn from God, detach the fruit from the tree, and savor it, then our return to wholeness is to turn, attach to God and savor Him."  Resilience, return, restoration - that's the way to peace.

The next rerouting along the way is to return to not only being still, but to ATTENTIVENESS, listening and watching to see what God is doing.  After all, Romans 8:28 tells us that ALL things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Anne translates that to her definition of hope: "Hope isn't insisting on the way we imagined things would go, but having an imagination that whatever comes our way will be worked out for our good." It may not always look like it from an earthly perspective.  We need to stop looking at what is in the way, and look for His way.  Hebrew 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.  Life is not about an easy way but an attached-to-God way.  To be chosen doesn't always mean you get the way you'd choose, but it means you were chosen for a good way. We can expect God to come, but it isn't in the ways you'd expect - all we can expect is to be loved through whatever path He has allowed us to be on.  If we aren't living attentively,  we become deeply disoriented, we keep asking questions of God instead of asking what God is asking of us.  We sell our souls to whatever we pay attention to.  But what God wants from us is to trust His ways, paying attention to all His blessings, even in the midst of dark times.  

If we are following these first two steps on the path, we will soon arrive at the need for the strange word CRUCIFORM which simply means to stretch our arms out in the way Jesus did for us, surrendering to what God asks of us.  Moses gives us this model: standing at the edge of the Red Sea, having no idea what the Lord was up to, but with his arms up and out like a cross, the precursor of the cross upon which Jesus' outstretched arms also brought an unlikely rescue.  When I think of Cruciforrrrrmity I think of these words:  Repentance, Rest, Relationship, Reorienting, Repetition, Resilience, Revelation, all leading to Restoration and Resurrection.  Cruciformity is what transforms.  As Anne says, "It's when you give yourself to the Way Himself that you know there's going to be a way through." And it may be a Red Sea way, not one you'd have chosen at all, but when you look back you see His hand.  

It takes getting this far to be able to see the next signpost:  REVELATION - to be able to see God.  It seems all roads lead to some sort of Gethsemane in each of our lives.  The question is, can we surrender like Jesus to say, "Not my will, but yours be done"? Anne suggests that terrible clouds can actually be torches, just like the one that led the Israelites on their journey.  She suggests that it is truly a mystery how God has a plan, even through the darkest times, to extricate, reinstate and celebrate even as the father did to the prodigal.  She says, "Not asking for eyes to see God IN the darkness, we become blind and lost and afraid." This is surely a mystery, just as the Holy Spirit can be our guide in the darkness now.  She tells us that the way out of pain is cruciform, reaching out to God's mystery of redemption and revelation even in our pain instead of our natural tendency to curve in to ourselves in what Augustine called homo incurvatus in se, the beginning of all our defaults and addictions.  Turn any way but to God and we miss revelation.   We get lost and our fears get louder in our souls.  But if we keeeeep turning to Him, walking His way, we begin to see Him even in the darkest paths.  This is a hard mystery to accept, but Anne says, with examples from her own family, her marriage, her worry for her own children, "There will be days when you think this is a mocking joke, that any of these dark clouds can be lighting the way, and you will weep, but there will be days when you know it, and will not be afraid. Within the clouds there is a light to lead the way."  She is vulnerable in her honest sharing, telling us she has been "pig-pen low" like the prodigal, that she has suffered "valley-of the-shadow of death desperation", and has suffered "literal physical heart failure", but that the only real danger of life in the darkness is to start curving away from the Waymaker and toward ourselves, that instead of looking for revelation in the dark, we start looking for relief.  She tells us that these dark times are the chances to trust God with our pain, not deflect it.  She calls these times "trust-greenhouses", a journey from bondage to bonding.  And tells us that unless we long for more of a revelation of Him - we fall into addictions to far lesser loves, that make us far lesser versions of ourselves.  

The next signpost keeps us on the road by telling us to constantly EXAMINE our return to God.  She tells us:  "Life isn't about how far you've come or how far you have to go.  It isn't about the detours, the wrong ways, the wildernesses, or the overwhelm, life is about living constantly in the direction of God."  Returning - necessary for us wandering sheep.  She reminds us that God isn't transactional, He is relational, making the way to be with us through pain, rather than keeping us from it and that new rhythms require repetition...returning, returning, returning.  Lamentations 3:20 also reminds us - Let us examine our ways, test them, and return to the Lord.  Are we turning in and trying to find our own way or reaching out to His strength?   It makes me think of one of my favorite verses, Isaiah 30:15 - In returning and rest is my salvation.  In quietness and trust is my strength. More wisdom from Anne's pen:  "When we attach our identity to being loved no matter what we are experiencing on earth,  we find there is nothing more we  need.  If we turn the pages of God's Word, turn toward Jesus, our whole life can turn around right in the middle of the darkest path". She warns us:  "When we want what we want too much, when our love for what we want outsizes our love for God, our fears outsize our living.  As Anne turned me toward Psalm 46:1-3,  the mystery of a revelation of poetry came out of nowhere:  

Our God is a safe, calm place to hide,                                                                                                          A Waymaker along the ride,                                                                                                                          Where we can not fear when faced with cliffs of doom,                                                                              But find that in our hearts courage has made room                                                                                      To face overwhelm, detours, wilderness, and deserts                                                                                    Only to find He never deserts us.                                                                                                                  The Jacob-wrestling God will always fight for us                                                                                        The God of angel armies always protects us.                                                                                                God is our refuge and our strength                                                                                                   In In trouble our ever-present help,                                                                                                                  We We must turn to Him                                                                                                                                      Instead of our self.                                                                                                               

And there we encounter the  last signpost - not D for Detour - but D for Doxology - no more detours - only a blessed assurance of a straight path into God arms in thankfulness, because based on Ex.15:1-2, what comes after exodus is praise and thanksgiving.  Anne reminds us that in a matter of days the Israelites went from abject terror to astonishing adoration.  And we can too, even without an earthly deliverance.  She tells us that if Jesus could give thanks even on the night He was betrayed, then we can give thanks in the midst of anything, and there is always something to be thankful for.  A habit of thankfulness is always our exodus out of bitterness, and Christ-exultation always leads to some sort of exodus.  Dark places need  not be places of despair, they can be spaces of divine dialogue.  She lets us in on her personal revelation: "When I have been holding on by a thread, what's been holding me together was this looking for a thread of grace still running through everything." It reminds me of what Anne Frank said even though she'd been in hiding for months, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."  And we can remember that in spite of everything, unlike people, God is always, always good at heart.

When we use these signposts from the bible that Anne has so beautifully elaborated on, we can see that this path is a way to a meaningful life.  As Anne says, "Finding a way through is really about finding a way of life, a new way of thinking, a new way of being. The way through happens wherever you stop focusing on how to get out of something and focus on what you can get out of this to become Christlike...to be pressed into the narrow pathway through. Looking from this vantage point, you see everything differently, the whole of the story, always making a way into the promised land of union"  - as the bible tells us in Is 45:3 "I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you will know I am the Lord...who summons you by name." 

If you've made it this far, I have to tell you, that this is only a brief outline of all the beautiful, real-life wisdom found in this book. I've decided I don't have to come up with my own thoughts to try to share what I've been learning in this blog which somehow I feel called to write.  Instead, I can send you right to the source of where I'm learning - from giants in the faith that walk before me, and Anne Voskamp is surely one of them.  

Paul Tripp's Take on Finding the Real Treasure

Ha! The above meme makes me wonder what we all miss in these days of technology - time with our grandkids, our kids, our friends, time reading something that might nourish our soul instead of clog our mind with other's opinions?  Now this meme of course is a modern day look at an old truth, but Paul Tripp in his Lenten devotional Journey to the Cross gives an even deeper, applicable look into Matthew 13.  It amplified its truth in a new way to me and I hope it will for you.  

He starts with this quote: 

The Christian life is a battle of treasure.  Whatever treasure captures your heart will control your life. 

So how does he relate that to the scripture story about the man who hunts for a treasure in a field, and then sells everything he owns to buy that field and treasure? 

He starts by helping us to see that each of us is a treasure seeker.  We hunt for treasure in relationships, careers, political parties, achievements, physical strength or beauty, positions of power to name a few.  But we never seem to find that "heart-satisfying pot of gold that we're looking for, at least not in the created world."  He directs our thoughts to realize that we can attach the desires of our heart and the hope of our lives to earthbound treasure or heavenward treasure.  But what so many don't realize is that this search for meaning, purpose and security is in reality a search for a savior and will never be satisfied by anything else!  He tells us, "We're all that man (in the parable). We're all traversing the fields of life, and we all have our heads down looking for something that will give us hope, something that will fix what is broken in and around us, something that will satisfy our hearts."

We are then confronted with the fact that we make sacrifices in this quest for treasure; businessmen who sacrifice time with their families to climb the ladder of success, teens that sacrifice their virtue to be popular, politicians who sacrifice their ethics to get elected. Have they found the thing that so satisfies that they don't even have the desire to search anymore?  He asks us to ask ourselves the question:  In what field and for what treasure are you making sacrifices?  

And then He supplies the best answer:  The only thing worth sacrificing everything for is the kingdom of heaven.  In His rule is the place where I am freed from my bondage to the created things that never fully satisfy.  

But then, we must all find that treasure in our own search.

The Real Treasure

We search for it endlessly -

The pot of gold that will satisfy

Our hopes, dreams and longings

That we testify...

Will finally break the bondage 

We have in our restless soul,

That will finally quench our thirst

As we all strive to be made whole.

We think it's in the pursuits 

We are confronted with on earth -

The success, achievements or circumstances

We think will fulfill our sense of worth.

And yet, the bible tells us 

That the man who found the treasure,

Sold ALL for that field 

In which he found the measure...

Of the only thing worth everything

That is not found upon this earth.

It may not even be realized 

Though we know of the virgin birth...

That brought a savior to this earth,

To save us from our desperation

To find what will bring us life

And finally the cessation...

Of our endless search - 

The treasure is freely given!  

All we must do is surrender our life

And to accept we are forgiven...

And then we find our treasure 

Not in this kingdom we see

But in the one we can start to live in

Even now - and for eternity! 

     - by Sherrill Schlimpert

Excerpts from Truthfilled by Ruth Chou Simmons

I love the honesty in the video that came with this study by Ruth Chou Simmons.  She confessed that instead of growing in the fruits of the spirit that she had learned about by being what she describes as "a good bible study gal", she realized that she made a regular practice of "freaking out."  She recognized that she was more like what James  1:6 describes as a person who is "tossed about by the winds," a person who spins out of control instead of trusting in the Lord as seasons of conflict and the pressures of this world inevitably come at us.

At this point, she decided it was time to take what she learned in bible study and begin to preach it to herself,  just like David models in the Psalms.  She decided she would find out how to do what the bible prescribes "to take our thoughts captive (2 Cor. 10:5), and to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God." (Rom. 12:2). She recognized the truth of Proverbs 23:7 that tells us, For as He thinks in his heart, so is he." She also recognized that she must change her thinking  in order to do what James commands as an antidote to being tossed about by the wind:  "to be doers, not just hearers of the Word."  She was determined to find out how to deal with her "woe is me" moments with more grace and the "endurance and patience" that Col. 1:10-11 speaks of.  

As she made this active choice, she realized that just as there are seasons of differing circumstances in our lives, some good, some not - that there are also seasons of growth and waiting - that this being able to take our thoughts captive and hold up to testing does not come in one single decision.  She was reminded what I Peter 1:4 tells us:  that we can rejoice though now we have had to suffer a little while in all kinds of trials that have come to prove the genuineness of our faith. 

She outlines the seasons of growth as the Winter of  RESTING in God's promises,                                                                                                 the Spring of REHEARSING truth and REPLACING lies,                                                                         the Summer of  RESPONDING in faith,                                                                                                       the Fall of REMEMBERING when blooming stops and                                                                                                                             weariness sets in

She clung to the model of David in Psalm 42 as he tells his own soul to PUT his hope in God, POUR out his soul and emotions, to THIRST for God as he PRAYED,  PRAISED and REMEMBERED what God has done for him in the past.  Though these word were familiar, to actually DO them required a new way of thinking, living and being.  

Ruth then sets out on this journey by using Colossians to lead her through these seasons of growth, starting with the command in Col. 3:1-2 to set her heart on the things above, not on earthly things.

Winter - the Season of Resting

Running on empty, she started her search for growth in a state of Winter, where her sense of hope felt trampled on like the hardened earth of this season, when she wasn't sure if she could survive the bitter cold, overwhelmed and frustrated by her to do lists.   She listened to God's call to lay down her fears and her frantic striving to fix and control and to wait, trust, weep and rest.  

She began to see that resting is not passive; it is an active choosing to trust in the God who is at work in the unseen, beneath the surface of the frozen ground. Like the hymn, she saw how she was "prone to wander, prone to leave the God I love." but was ready to learn the next verse: Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, seal it for they courts above." She began to rest in His promise to be her Guide, Comfort, Presence and Strength, to know that He is sufficient for our every need because as Augustine famously voiced our true condition: "Thou madest  us for Thyself and our heart is restless until it finds repose in Thee."

Spring - Rehearsing Truth and Replacing Lies with Truth

She began to see a new way of  thinking peek out from the long, dark days of being tossed in the winter winds, to peek out like a crocus in a new snowfall, knowing the wind and rain was not over, but clinging to the new roots, anticipating growth ahead as she grounded herself in what is right and true.  This was the time of watering and waiting, building muscle memory for new growth instead of withering to her default modes, to know that she would one day bloom into holiness in His sight IF she continued in her faith as is promised in Col. 1:21-23.  REHEARSING truth began to be her new default when storms came.  It didn't happen naturally.  Her muscle memory of reaching for her phone first, began to slowly be replaced by seeking Him FIRST, by practicing His presence and being immersed in His Word.  

She began to see herself as the blessed one that is like the tree Psalm 1 and Jer. 17:5  speak of, the one who doesn't reach first for the wicked and mocking which she saw in so many of the memes in the wasteland and elemental spirits of the world that she found as she spent so much time on Facebook and listening to talking heads on tv,  but whose delight is in the law of the Lord.  She began to see that she was meditating on the law of the Lord day and night and began to expect that she  really would yield its fruit in season and be one whose leaf does not wither in a time of drought. She began to see that she really was abiding and depending on Him as she rehearsed who she was becoming more and more alive in Christ that Col. 2: 13 -14 speaks of. She began to see that she was filled with Him as she began to depend on Him , and be emptied of anxiety, fear, discontent and worry.  

Summer - the season of responding in faith

And then, just as the days become longer in summer, so did her time and delight in the Word. She began to see how she had forced her fruit of service out of obligation and people-pleasing rather than discerning His will and purpose for her.  She began to see that she was walking in the Spirit and not gratifying the desire  of her flesh, but instead the fruit of the spirit of Gal. 5 began to be what she was reaping : growth in  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and SELF-CONTROL!!!

She began to understand that setting her mind on things above was reiterated in Phil. 4:8 - that though she still listened to the news and checked in with friends on Facebook, what she dwelled on was whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, things of moral excellence and worthy of praise, that  dwelling on His Word began to be a way of life.  And she saw that fruit was not just  working at looking like a good church person, but of abiding in Him.  She began to see what Col. 3:23 meant when it says that whatever we do, work at it with all your heart as unto the Lord. And that fruit also began to appear in her marriage as the peace of Christ began to rule in her heart (Col. 3: 14) allowing her to bear the fruit of humility and submission more often in her marriage which encouraged more sacrificial loving and respectfulness from her husband.  (Col. 3:19-20)  And she began to take seriously (Col. 3:8) to watch what come from her lips, that speaking ill of others does not honor the Lord.  

Fall -  Remembering when blooming stops and weariness sets in

This is no bible study for those who have lofty ideas of becoming pharisetically holier thou.  No, the discussion of fall reminds us of the reality of the shifting seasons of our lives.  While we do find that becoming immersed in the Word and seeking to put God first in every thought really does bear the fruit that Col. 3:15 promises, that we can let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

But anyone that has done any gardening at all knows that they do not stay neat and tidy and nor do our lives.  Perfect rows become overgrown, vines and weeds threaten to take over.  Growth looks messy.  Growth takes work and resources of fertilizer and honest labor.  Growth makes weariness worth it.  But even disciplined pruning and a well kept garden has an end to the fruit bearing season.  If we forgetfully take credit for our own resourcefulness or ability to  produce beautiful by-products of faith, we will take on a burden we were never meant to carry.  Phil. 2:12-13 tells us that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you. The seasons of our fruitfulness are totally dependent on Him, not on what we hope to accomplish, or take credit for.  

Paul's final instructions to the Colossians in 4:2-6 tells them (and us) to continue steadfastly, to walk in wisdom...  Let your speech be gracious.  We will have fallow seasons where we must wait on the Lord and His timing and not force fruit, in others or ourselves.  With Him we can know that no season is wasted.  Even in the darkening seasons of fall and winter we can know with the Psalmist in Ps. 62 that truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him, that He will refresh the weary (Jer. 31:25), that we can come to Him when weak and heavy laden and He will give us rest. (Matt. 11:28)

And so, this book is one that I've just given snippets of its wisdom.  It truly is one that uses the Word throughout its pages to help us understand that we must, as Hebrew 10:23 commands: to let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.  For He who promised is faithful. 

In this beautiful book, illustrated creatively by the author, we are reminded that seasons of the heart are just that - seasons.  After a season of growth and productivity, we still become surprised by a season of painful waiting and unrest, back to a  season where  we must call upon reminders of God's provision when we are weary and spend.  But we must be resilient, just as our earth was created to be, to have seasons of rest, rehearsing, responding and remembering.   

                                                

A Condensed Version of Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Cycle of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen

                             Ever feel like your thoughts are like this t-shirt - spiraling from your mind into your shoulders and your stomach until it's a mess of tension like these ugly colors?  Of course you have!   It's the human condition. As a life coach both privately and as a volunteer for a local clearinghouse for people in need and as a Stephen Minister at our church for people in crisis, I see a lot of people whose countenance looks as volatile as that t-shirt  - with dark and scary thoughts that are swirling and sometimes ready to explode or draw them deeper into the spiral of depression or despair.  

Interestingly, as I read about brain research that I did much reading on during my years as an educator, I see that the word depression is almost always described as a spiral into darkness - which to me implies that it can become worse from the origin of where it started.  This causes me to think, although the source may not be able to be helped, maybe we can keep it from spiraling into a worse situation!!  Indeed, over the years, I've seen that to be true, in myself and the many people I've had the privilege of walking alongside in their crisis.

When I read the book Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen, I was so validated to see that she put into new words a very synopsis of what I've come to believe truly helps people.  I was also validated that what I see work in self- help books, is also further validated by the bible.  Indeed, I took a course once in healing prayer where the psychiatrist that taught the class shared that she had seen many people stabilized though talk therapy and medications but she saw the swiftest and most complete healing in those who also had a spiritual awakening in their search for mental health.  

I offer to you my summary of  Part One of this book, which also are validated by some of my favorite verses from God's Word that has proved to be ageless wisdom.  I hope they prove as meaningful to you as they have as I have watched them prove to be truth in myself and many others that I have been privileged to walk with along their journeys:

Summary of Part One, Get Out of Your Head:  Stopping the Cycle of Toxic Thoughts by Jennie Allen

Chapter 1: Thinking About Thinking

The greatest spiritual battle of all generations is between our ears – it truly is a battle for our minds.

How we think shapes how we live. Our emotions lead to thoughts – which determine our actions – which affect our relationships.   But we do not have to be victims of our emotions that churn within us – God has promised a way for us to escape the downward spiral of negative thought. 

 Take every thought captive.  2 Cor. 10:2

 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Romans 12:2

Chapter 2:  What We Believe and Chapter 3:  Spiraling Out

Every lie we believe about ourselves can send us into a spiral of darkness and is rooted in what we believe about God.  We can still spiral even though we are doing the typical suggested methods of battling depression:  working out, being productive, even going to church. Our distorted reasoning, which is the result of toxic thinking, actually begins to make sense and we forget who we are. 

We have an enemy and he can beat us up, but the fears, doubts, restlessness and pain we experience are not who we are made to be.  Taking our thoughts captive is not about what happens to us; it’s about choosing to believe that God is with us, for us and loves us even when all hell comes against us.  Learning to capture your thoughts will inform and shape every aspect of your life and give you peace and joy that transcend your circumstances. 

 We are God’s workmanship created to do the works Christ Jesus prepared in advance for us. Eph. 2:10

 You have searched me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up.  You understand my thoughts from afar. (1,2, 3))… You hem me in behind and before. ( 5) Where shall I go from your Spirit?  Or where shall I flee from your presence? (7) …Even there your hand will lead me (10)… For You did form my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.  I will give thanks to Thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made (13) … Search me and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts.  - Psalm 139      

Chapter 4 and 5:  Breaking Free, When Thoughts are Captured

There may be seasons where we need help in the form of medicine or counseling.  You cannot think yourselves out of a chemical breakdown or mental illness. But neuroscience has proven we can change our neural pathways, some dug deep from a lifetime of toxic thoughts.  The heavy fog can be lifted, but it takes fighting back.  Spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting and meditating, spending time with God and learning who He is provide weapons to fight with. 

The first thing we must remember is that we  have a choice regarding where we focus our energy.  We are not subject to our behaviors, genes or circumstances.  The heroes of the faith (Heb. 11) were not subject to their own thoughts or feelings or circumstances; they worked to think about Christ.  They chose Him over than their own ability to work things out.  Jesus needs to be the axis around which all our thought spirals cycle.  We can interrupt our downward spin by looking at what we are obsessing about and interrupting those thoughts.  It might take counseling, it almost always takes community, is often helped by fasting and always takes prayer and meditation.  When we think new thoughts, we physically alter our brains.   Just like we do with children, we need to redirect our thoughts.  

When we’re spiraling in noise or distractedness, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through stillness.   When we’re spiraling in isolation, we have a choice to shift our minds back to God through community.  Whether we’re spiraling in anxiety, cynicism, self-importance, victimhood or complacency, of because of truly dire circumstances, we have a choice to shift our minds to God.  We CAN mind our minds and fight this battle. 

Paul experienced a massive shift which totally changed his perceptions. No longer was he a slave to his circumstances and his emotions.  He tells us: 

Though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.  - I Cor. 10:3 

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  - Romans 8:5

We look at things as they are outwardly. -  I Cor. 10: 7 

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the ruler, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Eph. 6:12 

As he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Prov. 23:7

Chapter 6 and 7:  Making the Shift and Drawing the Battle Lines

Psychology Today reports that many researchers point out that the vast majority (70% of our thoughts) are negative.  Because of our assumptions and perceptions negative emotions surface:  frustration, anger, despondency, hopelessness, embarrassment, inadequacy, shame.  These are normal human reactions – part of the human condition. But, we need to make a choice about what to do with these thoughts by first acknowledging them and by being aware of our them.  Are you thinking in patterns such as worrying about things you cannot control, dwelling on how you’ve been wronged,  being obsessed with what you don’t have, or being self-critical?  Are you being patient with yourself if you’re experiencing grief? 

Worldly self-help, can be a stabilizer and should never be minimized,  but it can never cause us to see ourselves in our true identity as heirs of heaven, or give us the fruits of the spirit, or help us in humility to think less about ourselves.  Worldly self-help can offer a better version of yourself; Christ is after a whole new you.  

Taking every thought captive is not about what happens to us.  It’s about choosing to believe that God is with us, for us and loves us even when all hell comes against us.  Changing your thoughts may not change your circumstances, but capturing your thoughts with truth will inform and shape every aspect of your life and give you peace and joy that will transcend your circumstances. 

 Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.”  Jn. 16:33

 Submit yourselves to God, Resist the devil and He will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  James 4:  6,7,8

 As he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Prov. 23:7

Chapter 8 Holding Space for Silence, Choosing to Be Still with God

Be still and know that I am God.  Ps. 26:10

Neuroscience assures us that our brain can be physiologically altered by prayer and meditation. (One source is:  7 Ways Meditation Can Actually Change the Brain, Forbes, 2015)  Toxic  thoughts can be combatted with positive thoughts, as simple as getting our minds focused on a hobby, on playing a musical instrument, studying a subject, or some other positive activity, even housework. Studies have shown that changing our focus onto something that makes us relax changes our brain waves into alpha waves that decrease anxiety and depression.  A UCLA study shows that meditation can even preserve the brain as aging happens.  We CAN be people of kindness, patience, peace; we CAN be gentle and self-controlled even when this broken world jabs at us. 

 Whatever is true, noble and right, whatever is pure and lovely, whatever is excellence or worthy of   honor, think on those things.  Phil 4. 

 For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and  self-control.  Against those things there is no law.  Gal. 5.

While negative thoughts must not be suppressed; they must be confronted and processed; spending too much time attending to our fears and doubts causes our need for control when confronted with chaos to become our present reality.  If we let our worry spiral about our health, finances, our relationships or our pasts, we may come to see things as worse than they really are, or focus on what may never happen. 

 Connection with God is the foundation for every other God-given tool we have to fight with.  We need to walk by the Spirit, not be jerked around by our swirling, chaotic thoughts.  In other words, we urgently need time in the presence of God.  

Above all else guard your heart for everything you do flows from it.  Psalm 4:23

You were taught with regard to your former way of life,, to put off your old self...To be made new in the attitude of your minds.   Eph. 4:22,24

Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matt. 6:33

We CAN change our thought patterns.  It is normal to think in the pattern of “I have a negative emotion because…”  But we can reframe that situation by making a choice about how to act on that emotion:  “I feel this negative emotion because …SO I will…”  We can shift our thoughts to the truth that nothing can satisfy you like quieting yourself before God as lines from this poem says:            

The mind is a broken thing,
It runs, races, and paces, taking me places
That consume me, distract me, and tempt me to believe
I’ve got to strive to survive
Don’t show weakness, be tough; try to be enough. 
 
But “if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation. 
The old we can pass away from; behold the new has come.”
Your mind doesn’t have to be out of control.
Those thoughts and loops and cycles can take a toll.
 
You can interrupt and fight against lies,
The racing, pacing, list making, consuming ties
To arrows from the enemy that fly in the darkness of the night.
They are coming for you -  but you have the Word, life, the Light.
 
Wake up from the perspective that keeps you despairingly self-focused,
Your hope in tatters.
Instead fix your eyes to see what really matters.
 
It’s hard to grasp the vastness of His grace and rest in
His mercy that can pull us from the pit we find ourselves thrown in.
For if you really believe Him, you will kill any seed
That will take your mind from whatever is true and honorable
And lovely and pure indeed.
 Yes the mind is a broken thing
But God’s spirit dwells deeper
To free our hearts to sing.

 -    Adapted by Sherrill Schlimpert from a poem in Ch. 8

 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls.  (Matt. 11: 28-30)

Let your gentleness be known to all...Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition present your requests to God.  And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 4: 5, 6, 7

If you've stayed with me this whole blog, I pray that you will be seeking God with all your heart - and that He will give you the peace that passes understanding.  As I've said, it has been my privilege to share many of these verses with people that felt anything but peace, with circumstances often more horrible than I could ever imagine - but I've been blessed by seeing this peace truly come over those hearts that were troubled.  What a joy to behold.