We’ve probably all heard how much our thoughts impact our lives. While theologians, leaders, authors, self-help gurus, and CEOs may have different viewpoints about life and politics, most agree that our thoughts are incredibly important and dictate the trajectory of our lives. Take a look at some popular quotes:

• “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” — Henry Ford 
• “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Teddy Roosevelt
• “The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” — Marcus Aurelius 
• “Our thoughts make us what we are.” — Dale Carnegie 

The Apostle Paul challenges us at the beginning of Romans 12 to “not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” The Greek word for the word renewing is anakainōsis and it literally means renovation. So, according to this verse, our transformation occurs when our mind undergoes a renovation.We know that a renovation happens when someone wants to change the appearance of their home or business. Maybe it’s because something is broken or damaged or perhaps it just needs to be updated. A mind renovation is similar.What kind of renovation does your mind need? Maybe you’re still focused on the broken and damaged thoughts you’ve been thinking for years. It could be that you’ve been playing an outdated recording in your mind that someone said to you during your childhood. Do you find yourself constantly complaining? Is it easier for you to fixate on the things that could go wrong in your life? Are you jealous and envious of others and how their lives seem better than yours? Do you feel overwhelmed and defeated by how you view yourself?Whether we usually have a positive outlook on life or we struggle every day with what our minds obsess over, we could all use some guidance when it comes to our thoughts. Often, we refer to unwanted thoughts as negative or bad, but what they really are is toxic.While many of our thoughts may not have much value, plenty do. Some are incredible thoughts that impact others for the better, while many of our thoughts are bent toward the negative. So, it’s true that we can’t change every thought that needs changing, we can think about our thoughts and attempt to change the ones that are toxic.Over the next four days, we will learn how to test our thoughts, capture toxic thoughts, fix our thoughts on Jesus, and make a plan to put it into practice.

Reflect – Day 1

• Think about your most common thoughts. How do they make you feel?
• In what area of your thought life do you need a renovation?

Scripture – Day 1

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)¹And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  ²Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

The thoughts you keep in a loop determine the direction of your life. — Steven Furtick 

We have a lot of thoughts every day. In fact, many experts believe we think somewhere between 60,000 and 80,000 thoughts per day. That averages out to 2,500 to 3,300 per hour. Remarkable, isn’t it?

It would be great if our thoughts were all good. But many of them are negative and toxic. The good news is that we have a guide to help us test our thoughts. Philippians 4:8 is a great test as to whether we should think about something. The verse tells us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise. Consider each word listed below.

True  One of the most important things to consider about our thoughts is, “Are they true?” Too often our thoughts are just not true. We need to focus on what is authentic, real, and lines up with God’s Word.

Noble Because we are children of God, we’re in the highest of ranks! Our thoughts should be royal and regal. Not in an arrogant way but in not allowing ourselves to think in an unkind or repulsive manner.

Right So many people want to be right—to be the one who is never wrong. But often, we don’t allow that desire for being right to permeate our thoughts. Thinking right thoughts means allowing accuracy and appropriateness to guide us.

Pure To be pure in heart and thought is not as difficult as it seems. It’s simply choosing to think on ethical, good, upright, and honest things.

Lovely This is a word that isn’t used much, but it should be. To think lovely thoughts means to see the beautiful and stunning in life and allow our minds to think upon those things.

Admirable To be admired is something most people want. But do we want admirable thoughts? Thoughts that are credible and distinguished and allow us to live in such a way that is commendable.

Excellent The best of the best is what excellent is. When our thoughts are excellent, they are superb, exceptional, and fabulous. Excellent thoughts lead us to live excellent lives.

Worthy of praise What thoughts are worthy of praise? Thoughts about God. His ways, His plans, and His creation, to name a few. It’s safe to say that when our thoughts are on Him, that’s a good thing.

We can test our thoughts every day. As we do this, eventually we won’t have to test many of our thoughts because we will already know if they meet up to the standards in Philippians 4:8. 

We will never be able to adjust every negative thought that approaches our awareness, but we can certainly try to free our minds from toxic thinking…one thought at a time.

Reflect – Day 2

• Write out Philippians 4:8 in three different Bible versions and compare them. Ask God for insight.

Scripture – Day 2

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

⁸ And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Taking thoughts captive means controlling them instead of letting them control you. — Priscilla Shirer

We were created in the image of God, and we are His masterpieces. What would our lives be like if we lived like we believed that truth? The biggest reason we don’t is because we have let toxic thoughts run rampant in our minds. We can’t let them dictate our lives—we must choose to capture our thoughts.

Taking our thoughts captive will be one of the toughest battles we engage in. It’s so much easier to just entertain the toxic thought. The effort comes when we engage in the battle. Even if we entertain the thought, we can still take it captive. It truly is better to do it late than never.

When the Bible says to take our thoughts captive, that means we have the power to do something about it. As Christians, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can manage our thoughts.

Here’s an example: let’s say there’s someone in your life you need to forgive. Every day, you remember what they did to you. You can’t seem to let it go or heal from it. You might start to have thoughts like, “I don’t really need to forgive this person” or “What they did to me is unforgivable.” These are the toxic thoughts you must take captive. Recognize that it is causing you to inner turmoil. Then, choose truth from God’s Word. You might even pray, “God, I’m choosing to push this thought aside instead of entertaining it. I know you have forgiven me of so much in my life. Help me to extend the same forgiveness to this person.”

And then you do it again and again and again until it “takes.” You’ll know healing is occurring when you look back on the situation and the sting of pain isn’t as intense. You will see it as something that happened to you—past tense—not something that is happening to you—present tense.

Why is it important that we stop those thoughts? 

• Because they go against God’s best and prevent us from living joy-filled lives. 
• In order to spend our mental energy on things that build up instead of tear down.
• So they won’t control our minds, which in turn control our actions. 

Every day is a new day. We get a new set of hours to live the lives that will bring glory to God and joy to our souls. We just have to recognize that and wake up with a newfound determination to be the boss of our thoughts, not the other way around.

Reflect – Day 3

• What is a recurring, toxic thought that you need to start taking captive today? Call it what it is—a lie.
• Find a verse that will blast that lie. When you think that thought, capture it and speak the verse aloud. Do this as often as you need.

Scripture – Day 3

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NLT)

⁵ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

When we fill our thoughts with the right things, the wrong ones have no room to enter. — Joyce Meyer 

Testing our thoughts and learning to take them captive is a huge part of the mental battle we have with our thoughts. So, when we can learn to do that as a regular practice, we will gain control over our thoughts.

But what if we chose to be more proactive with our thoughts in order to prevent reacting later on? There will still be thoughts that have to be tested and taken captive, of course. For we are not perfect. We can, however, choose to follow through with Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 3:2 NIV, which says, “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” In setting our minds on “things above” we will have less thoughts that need testing and being taken captive.

When we set our minds, we are striving for something and directing our mind toward a certain thing. This verse says we shouldn’t set our minds on earthly things. Those “earthly things” usually distract us and cause our thoughts to keep us from God’s best.

There are plenty of things we see every day that are out of our control. But, much of what we see can be prevented. What we put in front of our eyes is a big deal. If you feel that you have too many toxic thoughts, what is it that could be causing them? Could it be things on TV, social media, or the news? It’s wise to analyze the things we are viewing daily and ask God to show us what would be a good thing to decrease or eliminate altogether.

Much like we need to watch what we put in front of our eyes, we also need to consider what is going into our ears. What we hear affects our thoughts just as much as what we see. Have you noticed what types of music, books, or podcasts possibly cause toxic thoughts in your mind? Are there things you need to include, not just remove, that will build you up and help create healthy thoughts instead?

Instead of focusing on and setting our sights on things that could cause toxic thoughts, let’s be proactively mindful of what we choose to put in front of us. When we choose things that honor God and keep us pure in heart, we will have less thoughts to test and take captive.

Reflect – Day 4

• What tends to be your struggle? What you watch or what you listen to?
• List the biggest thing you need to eliminate from what you normally watch or listen to. Chances are you already know what that is. Give it up for 21 days and see what a difference you see in your thought life.

Scriptures – Day 4

Colossians 3:12

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Hebrews 12:1-3

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. ³ Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.

After 21 days of rewriting thought, you have wiped out the toxic thought and replaced it with positive, productive thought. Here’s how we change our lives. — Dr. Caroline Leaf

Matthew 4:1-11 tells about the devil tempting Jesus when He was in the wilderness for 40 days. During that time, Jesus went without food. The devil knew He was weak, and he tempted Jesus to turn from God. With each attack from the devil, Jesus responded with the Word of God. Even though He went without physical sustenance for 40 days, He survived and thrived spiritually. Because Jesus spent time with His Father, He knew the truth. He was prepared for this temptation.

We can’t live in freedom if we constantly allow our toxic thoughts to monopolize our thinking. The best way to battle them is by applying Scripture, because that will strengthen us in our own battle. We must gear up ahead of time and not try to do this once we’re in the battle. Soldiers don’t look for their weapons when the bullets are flying. They are prepared—ahead of time and at all times.

So, let’s prepare ourselves by putting our minds to the test and choosing to capture toxic thoughts instead of entertaining them. And once we do that, we end that lie that has held us hostage by declaring God’s truth. This is how we live free of toxic thoughts.

But it is also true that if we will fix our thoughts on Jesus and live our lives to honor Him, the need for having to test and capture our thoughts will decrease. The author of The Message paraphrase encourages us at the end of Philippians 4:8 to fill our minds with “the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.”

We must continually be filling our minds with things that bring life. We must look for the good. For when we do, we’ll find it.

Reflect – Day 5

• On Day 3, you listed a recurring, toxic thought that you needed to take captive and hopefully, you found a verse to combat that thought. Continue to do this for 21 days. Note the victory you’ve found after this. Make this practice a part of your day everyday until this toxic thought no longer overpowers you.
• Now, list a second toxic thought you have and find a verse to combat that lie. Follow the same plan as you did for the first lie. Continue this practice over every toxic thought that attempts to rule over you.

Scripture – Day 5

Matthew 4:1-11

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. ² For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

³ During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”

⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

⁸ Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

¹⁰ “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

¹¹ Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.