Do you feel discouraged?

overwhelmed?

defeated?

insecure?

irritated?

angry?

afraid?

jealous?

lonely?

inadequate?

nervous?

sad?

Or any other emotion that is causing your days on earth to be less than they could be?

Have you been in conversations where you've heard phrases like, "Life isn't suppose to be like this" or "Life shouldn't be this hard"?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above,

I hope what I'm getting ready to say will help you.

There is a way to change how you think.

I do not write as an expert on this topic.

I write only as a learner who wants to share what I'm learning,

because what I'm learning Is slowly changing me.

See, I've always had to work very hard to deal with emotions in my own life.

Depression is a battle I fight often.

Anxiety can overtake me quickly.

Insecurity walks close beside me as I travel through life and grabs my hand any chance it gets just to remind me that it's there and that I come up short over and over again.

So, I share what I'm learning about life as someone who is still learning.

But I'm sharing now because I want to see more and more people freed from their strongholds.

I want to see the grieving filled with hope.

I want to see the broken made whole.

I want to see the insecure walk confidently.

I want to see the angry released from everything that has hurt them in life.

I want to see the overwhelmed freed from their burdens.

How do we change the way we think in a world filled with bad news and broken people?

I think the only way we can have total freedom and success is by surrendering every single part of our lives to God.

As we surrender,

we literally have to let go.

No more clinging.

No more hanging on.

It's almost as if we stand in an open field and open our arms high and wide and say,

"It's all yours, God."

And then we take all the empty places and fill them up with His thoughts, His truths, His promises.

The secret is not just letting go but also grabbing on to something better.

Phil.. 4:8 says,

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.

Phil. 2:5 says,

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.

Col. 3:2 says,

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

and II Cor. 10:3-5 says,

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 

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.

Today, replace every doubt, every fear, every question, every burden with a truth from God's Word.

Allow Him to live and breathe so deeply within you that no matter what your day holds,

you walk victoriously.