The Eight Most Profound Truths We Have Learned by Lisa Burkhardt Worley and Dr. Lynnette Simm

5. Foreboding Thoughts are Not of God.

The first thing that pops up on my computer when I open up my laptop is a weather forecast. I laugh each time because there is always rain in the forecast. Most of the time it doesn’t rain but I thought Isn’t that the way we look at life sometimes? We expect a rainy day rather than a sunny day. We focus on gloom, not gladness.

I first became aware that I am guilty of foreboding thoughts at a conference I attended this year. The speaker said “Foreboding thoughts are not of God.” Let’s define “foreboding.” Foreboding: “Fearful apprehension; a feeling that something bad will happen.”

Foreboding is like launching into your emergency plan the minute you wake up.

I often think, “What would I do if something happens to my husband?” “What if I get really sick?” “What if we have a financial crisis?” 

I am often on the George Bush Parkway in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, Several times a week, I have to take a dangerous exit for IH35 that slows down to almost a stop. As I approach that exit, I’m looking in my rearview mirror the entire time, speaking to the other cars—saying repeatedly, “Please don’t hit me. Please don’t hit me!” 

What I’ve learned is that our words can be self-fulfilling prophecies. Be careful what you speak. I did get hit from behind on a highway earlier this year. Instead of worrying about getting rear-ended, I should be praising God that He is protecting me. 

Popular speaker and author, Joyce Meyer said at one time her thoughts were “poisoning her outlook.” I believe the enemy of our souls wants to keep us in a vacuum of negativity because then we miss out on the joy of life. We live each day in fear rather than victory as God designed.

What does the Bible say about foreboding thoughts? In Philippians 4:8 the apostle Paul said, “..whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent and praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Jesus did not leave us with foreboding thoughts. He didn’t say, “Now I am ascending to the Father, so since I am not here, I want you to fret and reflect on everything negative.” No, He left us with peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you .I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Peace is available if we ask Jesus for it.

Worried about people? Jesus said, “I tell you my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him, who after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell.”

Worried about money? “Look at the birds of the air, they do to sow or stow away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more value than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:26–27).

The Bible says that when we have a foreboding thought, we need to take the thought captive, so I am trying to do that. I don’t attempt to predict the future, because God has my future in His hands. If the worst happens, He will cradle me. When I try to slip into concern about my kids, I praise God for His hand on their lives. When I hit that worrysome exit, I’m thanking Him for protecting me and my vehicle. 

Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” Sometimes we must speak that kind word to ourselves. It’s the antidote for foreboding thoughts. (LBW)

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