The Kindest Thing You Can Do for Yourself in the New Year, December 31
Inside the Cancer Journey: Daily Reflections for Those Coping with Cancer
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By Niki Hardy
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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 (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV).
I remember when I got my port (a small contraption that lives just under your skin where chemo drugs are pumped directly into your veins) put in. I was sleeping off the anesthesia in our guest room and woke up sore, stiff, and still drowsy—but when I tried to get up, I couldn’t move. I was totally immobile.
My mind went bonkers, spiraling to a worst-case scenario: I was paralyzed—a paraplegic who’d never again run and play games with her kids.
Thankfully, I was not. Yet all too often our biggest battle is what goes on in our minds. Today I want to share a New Year’s resolution to help you not just win that battle, but be kind to yourself no matter what the new year (and the bully in your head) throws your way.
The resolution is simply this—to stop catastrophizing! Stop letting your mind spiral out of control to worst-case scenarios, like mine did that day.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer, your life has been upended. You can’t change that, but you can move forward and not give yourself extra battles to face.
So how do we stop our minds spiraling so we don’t waste tons of energy on the things we are not facing and may never face?
The key lies in what Paul tells the church in today’s verse: “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Paul is saying it’s a mental and spiritual battle. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to take every thought captive rather than letting our every thought take us captive?
We can do that with these three steps:
1) Identify your negative thoughts—ask yourself, what negative things are you most worried about? It can help to write these thoughts down—all of them. Let your imagination go wild!
2) Interrogate your thoughts. Ask yourself, which of these thoughts are fact and which are fiction? You might know you have a surgery tomorrow. But there’s no basis to think they’ll discover a whole new tumor. (They say 99% of all things we worry about never happen. My husband once started a list and it proved to be right!)
3) Intercede over your thoughts. That means to pray about your worry specifically, asking God for help with what you do know and giving Him what you don’t. There is nothing like prayer to stop anxiety! The apostle Paul tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation … present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).
Unfortunately, we will face battles and hard times next year. But if we want to live a life free from needless anxiety, the kindest thing we can do for ourselves is to stop catastrophizing—by taking every thought captive, and leaving each one in the hands of our trustworthy God.
Pray: Father, help me to give You all my thoughts, both what I know and what I don’t know. I believe the truth of Your Word and Your love for me over the fear and “what if’s” that spiral through my mind. Help me take every negative thought captive each day, and rest in Your amazing peace. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Your Turn: Give it a try! Write down all your worries. Next, look at each one and mark it Fact or Fiction. Finally, use your list to pray. Ask for God’s help with your facts and give Him your fiction list. Then, leave them all in His trustworthy hands. Ask Him for His peace that passes understanding to continue to guard your heart.
Niki Hardy, Family Member and Cancer Survivor
Niki is a British author, speaker, podcast host, and cancer thriver. Through her books Breathe Again: How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart and One Minute Prayers for Women with Cancer, and her free Trusting God Through Cancer Summit and Chemo Chair Prayers podcast, she helps people discover that life doesn’t have to be pain-free to be full, then to go live it. Download her FREE book bundle or find other resources at nikihardy.com.
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