Guest Post: Tracie Miles
It seemed like a great idea at first and I was confident and ready to go – until negative thinking ushered in fear and doubt.
Several years ago, I was invited to speak at a summer camp for young girls, and invited my daughter Kaitlyn to go with me. Throughout the weekend, we were allowed to sign up for outdoor activities; one of which was a ropes and zipline course. Kaitlyn was so excited about this particular adventure and her enthusiasm was contagious, so we both confidently put our names on the list.
The time came to put on our safety gear and listen to the guide for basic instructions. As we patiently waited in line, Kaitlyn got more and more excited, and I got less and less.
As I watched each girl clip her carabiner to the rope, climb her way up the towering tree to the first platform landing, and then carefully walk the tight ropes from tree to tree, my heart began to race. My inner voice of doubt began working overtime.
What was I thinking when I agreed to this? Why would anyone want to climb all the way up there anyway? What if I get up there and I’m too scared to get back down? What if my rope breaks loose and I fall to my death? Mercy.
As I doubted my abilities and purpose, my confidence sunk.
The more I allowed negative thoughts (even some irrational ones) to permeate my mind, the likelihood of actually going through with this adventure lessened. The longer I let other people go in front of me in line, intentionally trying to postpone my certain impending doom as long as possible, the more I convinced myself I couldn’t accomplish this task and that I didn’t really want to anyway.
Unfortunately, my turn finally came and I began slowly and hesitantly making my way up the tree – with zero percent confidence and one hundred percent doubt. No more than thirty seconds had passed when I caved in under the weight of my negative thoughts. I immediately climbed right back down the tree, took off my safety gear, and surrendered defeat to the enemy of pessimism.
As I peered into the sun, watching Kaitlyn safely attached to the ropes and moving from platform to platform, I realized she was enjoying a view and a sense of accomplishment that I would now never experience. I regretted letting my negative thoughts sidetrack my confidence and my ability to push past pessimistic doubts.
Then as she zoomed down the zipline and landed gently in the cool lake water below, I was suddenly aware of how much our negative thinking can sidetrack even our best intentions.
Missing out on this activity wasn’t really a big deal, but I couldn’t help but wonder how my negative thinking had derailed my confidence in the past for things that were a big deal – like pursuing God’s call on my life.
I thought back to times when I knew God had called me to share my testimony, but I had allowed fears of judgment or shame silence me. I considered the years I wasted not writing and speaking for His kingdom, my negative thoughts convincing me I wasn’t worthy or qualified to do either. I recalled a time God had nudged me to serve in a certain ministry capacity, but I had let negative thinking about my abilities sink my confidence and faith.
You see, when we allow negative thinking to take up residence in our minds, our thoughts will become an obstacle to our obedience.
Pessimist thinking – whether about our life, ourselves, or our callings – will always stand in the way of following God’s call on our life. We are given hope for preventing this through the instruction found in Romans 12:2a, which says “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (NLT)
When we invite God to transform our minds and help us change the way we think, He will immediately begin to do it.
Intentionally choosing to put aside negative thoughts about ourselves and/or the assignments God gives us empowers us to stand strong when the enemy tries to thwart our efforts. Our thoughts can keep us keep us from pursuing God’s call to be a leader in His kingdom in the divine way He has equipped us to be, but the good news, we can control those thoughts instead of them controlling us.
When our thoughts are positive, our hearts will be too, and obedience will naturally flow.
To intentionally make positive living a reality in your life, and to begin experiencing a total life makeover through the transforming and renewing of your mind, consider Tracie’s newest book, Unsinkable Faith: God-Filled Strategies for Transforming the Way You Think, Feel and Live. You can also purchase a Companion Study Guide & Journal and other valuable, faith fueling resources on Tracie’s blog at www.traciemiles.com.
You can join Tracie and others longing for a heart full of joy, an unbreakable smile, and a new, more optimistic perspective on life on April 25th for a fun Facebook Live event at 8:00 PM EDT (that’s 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, & 5:00 Pacific)!
Tracie Miles is a national Speaker and Author with the internationally known Proverbs 31 Ministries (www.proverbs31.org) and has spent the last eleven years inspiring women to live intentionally for Christ In addition to Unsinkable Faith, she is also the author of two best selling books, Your Life Still Counts: How God Uses Your Past To Create A Beautiful Future(2014) and Stressed Less Living: Finding God’s Peace In Your Chaotic World (2012). She is also a contributing author to the popular Zondervan NIV Women’s Devotional Bible, and the Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today Daily Devotional Book. Tracie is a monthly contributing writer for the Proverbs 31 Ministries Encouragement for Today daily devotions, which reach nearly one million people per day around the world with encouragement from God’s Word. Tracie has 3 children and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sign up for Tracie’s free 5 Day Optimist Challenge. Visit her blog for more information at www.traciemiles.com.
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