I hope I can enter the New Year without feeling stuck with old thought patterns. Those patterns include playing the “What If” game when life gets complicated. Sometimes, I find my mind dwelling on thoughts like “what happens if I lose my job or get sick or can’t pay my bills.” Do you worry and stress about the decisions that may or may not happen in life? Other times, feelings of inadequacy cause all of us to suffer and questions ourselves. Then, we waste time on self-accusation for the mistakes we made. We miss out on experiencing the joy of life as God intended it to be for us. We miss out on the peace that God provides to every person He created.
[bctt tweet=”Our thought pattern can cause us to miss out on experiencing the joy of life as God intended.”]
John 14:27, NIV: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
My old thought pattern
I tend to over-think many problems as I try to come up with all the ways something could go wrong. My overthinking even invades my faith walk. Sometimes, I feel called to action only to find myself coming up with a million reasons why I might fail at the task. Then afterward, I beat myself up for missing out on something God had planned for me. And if the made-up scenarios don’t stop me, then I worry about seeking the approvals of others before completing the task. If only I could do a better job of letting go and letting God be in charge. Even that thought contained a “What If.”
Galatians 1:10 – NIV: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Recently, I came across
[bctt tweet=”Throw away over thinking and follow Christ wherever He leads.”]
New Year, new thought pattern
There is good news for all of us. With God, all things are possible. It is never too late to begin again. As we begin 2019, let’s try to be the people God wants. We may have missed out on opportunities, but God will provide more for us if we stop playing the games. God has a plan, and a path marked out for each of us, all we have to do is follow it. Throw away your “what ifs” and “over-thinking” and follow Christ wherever he leads. He has a full and abundant life He wants to share with you.
Hebrews 12:1 – NIV: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Blessings,
Yvonne, Blogger, speaker, and author
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
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Dear Yvonne, happy new year! I appreciate this reminder to anchor my thinking in God and let Him lead the way. Blessings to you, your family and your ministry in the year ahead!
Thanks so much Melissa. Praying for each of us to serve God to the best of our ability in 2019. God bless
Missed opportunities can be lessons learned. The more we live for Him, the more we show His love to others. 🙂
You are so correct Melissa, we learn as long as we pay attention to His prompting. God bless
Yvonne, so many struggle with worrying about the next steps and things that cannot be controlled. Your post is a reminder to look vertically towards God, rather than horizontally towards others, and to trust God for the next steps. Leaning into his promises and his protection and provision.
Yes Anne, we must always be looking vertically for our answers. Thanks and God bless
Love this! Over thinking is not trusting God. That’s my problem way too often. Happy New Year! God bless!
Happy New Year Nancy. I know what you mean, it is a struggle. God bless
Yrs, those what-ifs can really big is down, Yvonne. For me, that sometimes stop me from speaking abbot Christ. Thank you for the encouragement to change this thought pattern.
What-ifs are no fun and really affect our message. Thanks Stephen and God bless
I am an over thinker, too. Your post is a confirmation for me – it all starts in the thoughtlife. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:8 (think about whatever is noble, etc). How we think effects how we act. It’s SO important! Thanks for the reminder.
Welcome to the club Lisa, lol. Our thoughts do impact so much of our life. Thanks and God bless
This is a really good post. I liked your comment, “Our thought pattern can cause us to miss out on experiencing the joy of life as God intended.” When I focus on Him, He restores hope to my heart.
Thanks Anneliese. Focusing on Jesus each and every day will help us to align our thinking with His. God bless
True, Yvonne, it’s never too late to begin again with God. Galatians 1:10 is one of my all time favorite verses. I want to be found pleasing the Lord and His approval about all others…to be and stay a servant of Christ.
Thankful for the cloud of witnesses including you! Happy and blessed New Year!
Amen Karen. We learn so much from each other. May the Lord bless our new beginnings of the New Year.
Good thoughts, Yvonne. Your post reminds me of the story Mark Twain told about a man who died and asked Peter who the greatest general of all time was. Peter pointed out a man who had only ever been a common laborer. The man who asked the question was perplexed. How could he be the greatest general if he had only ever been a laborer? Easy. He would have been if he’d ever been a general.
It’s sobering to think of my potential and how I’ve squandered it on worries and fear. Good things to remember as we head into a new year.
Thanks Chip, that is an incredible story and so reflects the idea of this blog. It is sobering to image what could have been in our lives. God bless.
Thanks Yvonne so wonderfully put. It is so easy to revert to old thinking patterns when life throws us some tough curveballs. So encouraged by your post.
Thanks Ava. I appreciate your thoughts
This is an encouraging post for the New Year. It reminded me of a poem, “His Plan for Me” by Martha Snell Nicholson and, in particular, the final stanza:
“Lord of the years that are left to me,
I give them to Thy hand;
Take me and break me, mold me to
The pattern Thou hast planned.”
Happy New Year
Hi Chloe, that is a beautiful poem. Happy New Year and God bless
Excellent, and amen, Yvonne. It’s hard to stop playing the what-if game, but it’s crucial to trust God so we can do and be all that God has planned for us!
Thanks Jessica. God bless
That quote is so powerful! I’m praying for new thought patterns this year also! I don’t want to miss out what God has for me!
I so agree on not missing out. Thanks Julie, God bless
Oh this blog is very timely for me! I was just falling back into some negative thinking and my daughter actually called it out. She told me if I continued to speak out negative things, it cements those things in my mind. And so yeah, we need to be focusing on the positive things that God speaks of us – we are His kids, after all. Thanks for a great post!
Thanks so much Lisa. Sometimes God reminds us through those around us. God bless
Yvonne –
I totally relate to this.. overthinking. As if it’s up to me to figure everything out. God has been convicting me to rest a bit more and trust a bit more. I’m trying to do that “one word” thing for the new year… faith. I need faith that all this I am trying to do for God will work out – maybe not how I hope, but as best honors Him and faith that He can provide things that my overthinking & striving can’t.
That is so wonderful Christina. Striving under our own strength gets us nowhere but so hard to do. My word for 2019 is Joy and trying to unpack it.