Capture Your Thoughts: Reframing

“I will never get published.”

“That agent didn’t respond because my writing is terrible.”

“Why did I ever think I could write?”

I don’t know about you, but these thoughts—and many more—run through my mind way more than I’d like. The mind, as they say, is a battlefield, and every day there are many victories and defeats. But we are not meant to live defeated.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

When thoughts invade us that want to take us down, we need to take them captive, and make them obedient to Christ.

One of the ways we can capture and rid ourselves of these thoughts is to reframe them with truth.

“I will never get published,” can be reframed as, “I’m not published yet, but I’ll keep working hard and you never know what God will bring my way.

“The agent thinks my writing is terrible,” can be reframed as, “They might not have gotten to my submission yet, so I’ll keep working on my current work and wait for God’s timing with this agent.”

“Why did I ever think I could write?” can be reframed as, “I was called to write, so I will focus on what I can do today.”

If all else fails, it might be time to take a break. Yesterday, I felt horrible about my writing, and life in general, to be honest. But a good night’s rest, and here I am remembering that God is good and He is always with me and equips me for the things He’s called me to do. If you’re stuck, go out into the sunshine, brew a cup of coffee or tea, read a book to a kid, or if all else fails, wait until tomorrow. It just might be a better day than today.

Now go forth and capture all those thoughts that are trying to beat you down and reframe them with truth. You are not meant to live in defeat, so grab onto the truth and victory promised by Jesus and don’t let go.