YOU ARE NOT ALONESample

The Weapon of Choice

Here’s a powerful thought:

I have a choice.

That’s it. I have a choice.

If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, you have the power of God in you to help you choose! You no longer have to let the enemy bully you. You have a God-given choice in what you think about, and God gives you the power to make it. You have a choice in where you focus your energy. You have a choice regarding what you live for. That thought is like a mighty weapon in your hands!

I have a choice.

That means our behaviors or circumstances are not the boss of us. Our feelings are not the boss of us. Our thoughts are not the boss of us.

We have a choice because Jesus gives it to us. It’s a huge, strong weapon.

When we begin to think about our thoughts, we can stop the spiral. We can reset and redirect. That’s our hope. Of course, we don’t have to wrestle with every thought and fear that pops into our minds. That sounds like a ton of work, right? We’d never do anything else! But we can allow God to fight for us—and that looks like letting His truth take up so much space in our minds that our fears will shrink because they have no room. We crowd out the bad with the good.

We can invite our thoughts to spin around Jesus and His love instead. How?

• by praying (Philippians 4:6-7)
• by remembering words from the Bible (Colossians 3:16)
• by talking to others (Galatians 6:2)
• by learning about the way your mind is made (Psalm 139:13-14)
• by trying practical tools that work with the way God made you (Genesis 1:27 NIV)

All these things are like mighty weapons powered by God’s goodness and love for you. Every spiral can be interrupted. Not one thing you go through is outside God’s reach. You are not alone in this fight.

Here’s a tool to start thinking about your thoughts - right now. It’s called a Mind Map, and it has three simple steps:

1. In the middle of a blank piece of paper, write the main feeling you’re feeling right now. It could be good or bad. You might write “anxious” or “afraid.” Around that word, write everything you can think of that is causing you to feel that way. You might write “school” or “sports.”
2. Talk to God. Pray through each thing you’ve written down, asking God to show you what you’re believing wrongly about Him and yourself.
3. Look for patterns. Are you worrying about things you can’t control? Are you obsessing about things you don’t have?

The point of this exercise is to help you see plainly how your thoughts tell a story about God that is either true or untrue.

How does it feel to know you have these awesome weapons? The battle you’re in doesn’t sound so scary anymore, does it? God has given you His Spirit and the power, weapons, and tools to shift your spinning thoughts. And when you’re willing to go ahead and fight? Pretty cool stuff starts to unfold.

Discuss

Parents and kids: Take a few minutes to work separately on a Mind Map. When you’re done, come together and share the exercise. What are some patterns you see? Are your thoughts telling a story that is true or untrue? Pray together, and ask God to let His truth fill your minds and crowd out the bad with the good.