The Inner Critic Exposed: Fighting Lies with Truth
Mathematics of the Mind: Calculating God’s Goodness. Turning Negative Calculations into Positive Reflections
Your brain is running nonstop. It never stops thinking and talking to you. Some estimate that you think between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day.1 Researchers say that about 75% of our thoughts are negative. The idea that you think this many thoughts would lead you to be thinking 35 to 48 thoughts a minute. I am not sure about this, but you can do your research2 and find this information.3
Another study was done in Canada that mapped thoughts, and it says that you think 6,000 to 6,200 thoughts a day.4 That is 5 or 6 thoughts per minute.5 Regardless, we all agree that our brains run nonstop. This does not count all that happens when we sleep when our brains go into dream mode.6
If the researchers are correct and up to 75% of our thoughts per day are negative, we think and speak to ourselves up to 4,600 times per day negatively. That is why God placed such an emphasis on taking your thoughts captive to the Lord Jesus Christ. We were told to tear down the strongholds the Devil was building in our hearts and minds. II Corinthians 10:4-5
The Bible teaches us to think on these things, which shows that we can control our thoughts Philippians 4:8. We are what we think Proverbs 23:7.
Thinking is imagining. The word translated imaginations in II Corinthians 10:5 means thoughts, arguments, reasoning, or logic based on evil intentions. In Philippians 4:8, the word think means to calculate, consider, believe, reckon, determine by a mathematical process, think about something in a detailed and logical manner, ponder, put it on your account, and esteem. There is more, but you get the idea.
Thinking is work. It is getting your imaginations under control. Every action starts as a thought and an imagination. We think about it and then imagine how it will go. So, using the word “think,” consider with me.
The word “think” has to do with arguments. Self, Satan, the world, and even religion can bring arguments against the God of Heaven and His truth. Your choice is what to do with those arguments. You can bring them into the light of truth and demolish them or allow them to fester in your heart.
Your inner critic loves to make arguments against God. Why is my body like this? Why do I not have the talents others have? Tell me why this happens to me. All of these thoughts that run rampant need to be brought in for a Biblical argument. Confront them with the truth.
To think means reasoning or logic based on evil intentions. Do you realize how often your thoughts have evil intentions? If a person talked to your friend like you let your thoughts speak to you, there would be a fight. No one should ever have to listen to the garbage you put up with from your own thoughts. Bring them into captivity.
To think is to calculate. We begin making mathematical calculations about our lives, our families, our ministries, and our friends. Our minds take everything and turn it into a calculation that is often detrimental. What are you going to do with those thoughts?
To think is to consider, believe, reckon, or act like something is true. We think, so we act. What we think is what we feel; If we can talk ourselves into a mood, we will do it.
The joke among our children when they complained was that “nobody loves me. Everybody hates me; I think I will go eat worms.” How often are your thoughts complaining instead of gratitude? How often are you thinking in a detailed and logical manner about how others seem to do compared to you?
Jesus said it wasn’t what a man put into his body that would contaminate him, but what came out of his heart. Matthew 15:17-20.
What are you thinking about? Do you seek to control your thoughts, or do you just go with the flow?
What if you took these articles about how good our Father is and thought about them? Would it help? I know that when I began to meditate on how my Father loves me; it changed my attitude, my actions, and my words. I remember laying in bed and thinking about how God was so good that He loved me and gave me His beloved sleep.
Take over your thoughts. Think right. Focus on God, your Father, and His goodness. Focus on truth.
https://yourtimetogrow.com/a-thought-is-a-thought/
https://policyviz.com/2024/10/16/fact-checking-60000-thoughts-the-mystery-behind-a-misleading-statistic/
https://insights.peak-dynamics.net/post/102ia4i/the-impact-of-45-000-negative-thoughts
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-many-thoughts-per-day#thought-origins
https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/how-many-thoughts-per-day/
https://news.va.gov/124582/live-whole-health-189-give-it-a-break/