Have you had trouble experiencing joy? Perhaps the reason is that your concerns are weighing you down.

I was feeling a little sluggish this week and just not able to experience joy. It felt as if something was pressing on me or weighing me down. In my time with God this morning, He revealed to me that I was concerned over many matters and that was causing me to feel the way I was.

→How do you know you are overly concerned about a situation?

You repeatedly think about or talk about that situation. God had showed me that I have been daily thinking about the same concerns. It is not all bad to have concerns but when they become repetitious in manner than we can lose our joy and our peace.

When we hold onto the same concerns after we have prayed about them and refuse to surrender the outcomes to God, a heaviness can come upon us. We are not built to carry our concerns. If we carry our concerns daily we cannot experience enjoyment of life.

As women it can be especially challenging not to think about our concerns. A woman’s brain is compared to spaghetti, meaning experiences and thoughts all run-together. The problem is when you can’t turn the switch off in your brain for the situations you are concerned about.

→How can you walk in freedom from your concerns?

1. Write out what you are concerned about, be aware of those concerns you repeatedly think about (those are the ones that cause heaviness and robs you of joy and peace).
2. Look over your list of concerns and ask yourself the following questions over each one: Have you prayed about that concern? Are you trusting God with the outcome of your prayers? Which concerns do you repeatedly think about? Get to the “root” of why you repeatedly think about those concerns. Are your concerns rooted in fear?
3. Are you trying to figure out the outcomes of your concerns?
4. Become aware of the concerns you are repeatedly thinking about. Submit the concern immediately to Christ and move on. Remind yourself that you have prayed about those concerns, and God has heard you and He will answer you. If you are repeatedly thinking about the same concerns most likely fear is involved and you are in bondage to whatever is controlling your thoughts. Fear does not come from God, so it must be broken by the name of Jesus.
5. Obsessive thoughts about concerns can be broken by discipling your mind. When a reoccurring obsessive thought comes to your mind, don’t entertain, dwell, or analyze that thought. Stop thinking about that thought by replacing the thought with a scripture and/or a faith-filled response. You may need to do this often before the obsessive thought is broken.

Disciplining your thoughts takes time and effort, but it can be done. You can have freedom from what concerns you. For additional practical help, check out my latest book, “Disciplining your mind 30 days to a better you!”. You can find my book on Amazon.

Stephanie R. Reck, LMSW, LBT, BCCC
Stephanie Reck, Coaching & Consultation Services
www.stephaniereck.com
[email protected]
Stephanie Reck Coaching & Consultation Services, @2024
Author of, "Disciplining Your Mind 30 Days to a Better You!"