I'm Kelly Ann Snyder. Welcome to Living Perfectly Loved, the podcast created to encourage, equip, and inspire you to live free from fear and full of joy, secure in God's perfect love. If you're longing to stand firm in Christ amidst the storms of life with a faith deeply rooted in God's perfect love, stop anxiety and fear from stealing your joy and controlling your life, shine brightly and love fearlessly, confident in who God uniquely created and called you to be, then this faith-inspiring podcast, full of practical help and spiritual tools, is for you. You're listening to Season One, Episode Four,"Fear is a liar: Take Captive Every Thought," brought to you by Living Perfectly Loved Ministries and my new book, Living Perfectly Loved: A Christian's 12-Step Journey to Freedom from the Grip of Anxiety and Fear. For all recommended resources, products, and freebies discussed in this episode, please see the notes for this episode. I'm happy to announce that in each episode this season, I will be sharing an excerpt from my book containing each of the 12 steps the Lord used to deliver me from the grip of anxiety and fear. In this way, you'll be getting a sneak peek into my book, Living Perfectly Loved. I'm so glad you've decided to join me. Subscribe to my email list today at kellyandsnyder.com and you will be kept in the loop with all book and ministry-related announcements I make, and be eligible to receive all free resources I create and share with my subscribers. Visit my website at kellyandsnyder.com to learn more about Living Perfectly Loved Ministries, including direct links to purchase my book and information that can help you take the next step forward in your faith journey. If you haven't yet listened to my podcast trailer, I'd like to invite you to do so after listening to this episode. All right, let's get started! The following is an excerpt from Step Three of my book, Living Perfectly Loved, titled,"Fear is a liar: Take Captive Every Thought": I stared at the kitchen counter and sink stacked high with last night's dirty dishes. Peeking into the dishwasher, I breathed the heavy sigh. It was full of dirty dishes, too. Quickly, I walked away to keep myself from becoming irritated by the mess, but there was no escaping my growing frustration. In the family room, the couch was piled high with wrinkly, but clean laundry that had to be sorted and put away. I stared aghast, baffled by the sheer amount of clothing one family could cycle through in a week. Having just gotten home after a long day of work, I wasn't up for cleaning. What I needed was a place to sit down and put my feet up for a few minutes. So I headed to the TV room, desperate for some respite from the waiting chores. Big mistake. There were empty popcorn bowls and soda cans left from last night's family movie night. Throw blankets were strewn about the sectional, shoes littering the floor, along with a couple candy wrappers tucked between seat cushions. Why doesn't anyone pick up after themselves? The day-to-day load of work and family responsibilities weighed heavily on me. It seemed there was never enough time to be present and simply enjoy life. I could feel the stress and overwhelm starting to rise from the pit of my stomach to grip my chest. Hot with anger and resentment, I stormed to my bedroom to lie down. I hoped to shut out all that didn't bring peace and spark joy when I closed my eyes, but it didn't work. I started to cry."I can't do this anymore." Destructive thought patterns--such as I can't do this anymore, a phrase I used to tell myself regularly--attack ourself worth. They are abusive and oppressive, and they will attempt to destroy our identity in Christ. The next step after getting to the root cause of your struggle with anxiety and fear is taking a closer look at what current thought patterns keep you from breaking free from anxiety and fear. Fear is a liar! The truth is, you don't have to let your thoughts take you captive. To take captive means to take prisoner or to enslave. It's easy to get swept away by our thoughts and emotions and become a prisoner of our own minds. But you are not a prisoner. You have the power to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, 2 Corinthians 10 verse 5. But what does Scripture mean by take captive? How do we make our thoughts obedient to Christ? It means that we replace thoughts that don't agree with the Word of God, who is Jesus Christ, John one verse one, or that contradict what He says to be true in Scripture. I caught myself saying,"I can't do this anymore" almost daily--in response to struggles at work, disagreements with my husband, an overwhelming to- do list, or the never ending pile of dirty laundry and dishes. One day, I stopped and asked myself, is what I'm saying, actually true? Can I not keep working, cleaning the house, and helping my family? Can I not work through disagreements with my husband? Can I not ease up on my to-do list and set more realistic goals for myself? And most importantly, what does God's Word have to say about all this? I was starting to see how negatively this one simple phrase was impacting my outlook on life, my motivation for getting things done, and my commitment to my family. After praying, reading my Bible, and learning the truth in Scripture, God revealed to me that the thought I can't do this anymore was it actually a lie I was telling myself. The truth, according to God's Word, was that I can do all things through Him, Christ, who strengthens me, Philippians 4 verse 13. It suddenly hit me that this lie I was believing was holding me back. It kept me feeling defeated rather than seeing myself as a conquer in Christ. So right then and there, I made a decision. Instead of allowing that thought to continue deceiving me into believing something untrue about myself or about what God could do in through me, I would replace it with the truth found in God's Word. Now whenever that old lie tries to creep back into my mind, I take it captive and make it obedient to Christ. While this is just one example of how I started taking captive my thoughts and making them a obedient to Christ, I use it to illustrate a point: God cares a lot about your thought life. Negative thoughts can lead to making false assumptions about ourselves, others, and God. They lead to drawing false conclusions about our circumstances. In choosing to believe our own thoughts and assumptions, as well as the lies the enemy whispers in our ear over the truth of God's Word, what we're really saying is we don't believe God's Word to be true. If I say I can't and God's Word says I can, then I'm acting as if God is a liar! Yikes! If according to Scripture,"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him," Matthew 12 verse 35, we need to be sure that we are filling our minds with and meditating on truths that reflect God's goodness and holiness. Whether we like it or not, good or bad, what's inside of us will spill out onto others. My prayer is that what comes out of us may serve to benefit those around us and glorify God. We have a choice--to believe our own thoughts and feelings, or to believe God's Word. Friend, this is where your faith will be put to the test. Do you really believe what you say you believe? Have you let Scripture penetrate deep down into the recesses of your heart and mind and become deeply rooted? Will you trust God with your life? Proverbs 3 verses 5 through 6 instructs us,"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight." The Lord will not lead you astray. You can trust Him. However you must learn to fully receive God's Word as truth if you want to grow in faith. If anxiety and fear have a grip on you, then somewhere along the way you've allowed fearful thoughts and feelings to take control of your mind rather than God's truth. The good news is you can regain control of your mind. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 7 says,"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." If you sense that you are making decisions based on what a spirit of fear is whispering instead of what God's Word has told you is true, please do not let this shame you in any way. Rather, let it shine a light on the dark places in your heart and mind yet to be surrendered to the Lord. Let it open your eyes to the schemes the enemy has devised to keep you from the freedom and fullness of life promised you in Christ Jesus. We are not subject to our own thoughts because"we have the mind of Christ," 1 Corinthians 2 verse 16. With the sword of the spirit, which is God's Word, Ephesians 6 verse 17--and the power of the Holy Spirit within us-- we can overcome every lie that the enemy would use to tear us apart. If possible, stop and pray right now asking the Lord to show you at least one Bible verses week that you can use to break free from a lie you've been believing. Once God shows you the verse, make it your go-to verse whenever that lie tries to creep back into your mind and you are tempted to believe it. Consider framing Scripture and hanging it up in your home. You can keep a small notebook of Scripture in your pocket or purse. Make a point to memorize Scripture and declare it out loud whenever you feel overwhelmed by anxiety and fear. This is your best offense against the attacks of the devil. The Word of God is your sword in hand with which to pierce the enemy's lies. It's a source of light in a dark moment. Keep Scripture close at hand, maybe in your purse, back pocket, or cell phone. Use it as a weapon in your fight for freedom. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I confess it's often hard to distinguish my thoughts from Your thoughts and the lies of the enemy from the truth of Your Word. Lord, make Your Word my only truth. Began revealing Your Word to me in greater measure. Help me to recognize Your voice. Grow in me a desire to seek You in Your Word, and through Your Word, give me the wisdom and power to overcome my every fear. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Living Perfectly Loved podcast. While it's true that God is love and we are perfectly loved by Him, we all struggle at times to live like this true. While we should strive to grow in Christ likeness, we can rest in knowing God loves us because of who He is, not because of who we are or anything we could ever do for Him. In Jesus Christ, we are enough! Remember, you don't have to be perfect to live perfectly loved. You have always been and will always be a completely forgiven, fully accepted, deeply loved, daughter the King. Beautiful friend, His grace is for you. Please subscribe to my podcast now and stay tuned for another episode of Living Perfectly Loved. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He shine His face on you and be gracious to you. May He turn His face toward you and give you peace, in Jesus' name.