The simple definition of a toxin is a poison that can make you sick. They can make you both physically and mentally ill. Toxic thoughts lead to negative emotions that can overwhelm you and affect your mind and body in adverse ways. The emotion of anxiety can have a toxic effect on your mind and body and cause many illnesses. Toxic substances are tangible, but they are equally detrimental to your overall health and wellness. In this pandemic season, it is inevitable to experience storms of negative thinking.
Toxic Thoughts
The crux of last week’s blog was about trusting God to overcome fear. I shared a promise from God that offers security to believers in such a time as this. Some people will read this and believe it, feeling God’s presence with a wonderful sense of peace and comfort, and their faith will be increased. But other people may read the promise and still feel consuming emotions of anxiety and fear. So, how does one receive true comfort from God’s promises? It has everything to do with taking control of your thoughts. Thoughts can be toxic and lead to negative emotions resulting in defeatist behavior. In order to get rid of these toxic thoughts we have to make changes to what we do with them. This is why the scripture instructs us to take our thoughts captive to Christ, so we can discern if it is true or not. We do this by testing it against what God says about us in His word. The more scripture you read, the more you will be able to discern truth from lies. Any time we believe or nurture a lie, (a toxic thought), it becomes a stronghold in our life. It gives the enemy a foothold into corrupting our mind and diminishing our faith until he can utterly and completely destroy it. That is his goal, but we have been given weapons from God to fight against this enemy and overcome all strongholds.
“The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
We inadvertently allow strongholds to develop in our mind, not only in regard to fear and anxiety, but in other areas of struggle in life. You may struggle with overeating, or addiction, over spending, laziness, or the inability to motivate yourself to do something you know you need to do. The list can go on, but I think you catch my drift. Sometimes change is not only good, it is necessary to get rid of toxic thoughts in order to change your behavior and conquer negative emotions.
Change is not always easy
I’m the first to admit that I have shortcomings in changing my attitude and behavior when it comes to exercise. I can be like that frustrating client that I wrote about last week. I desire to be thinner and in good shape, but I’ve become really comfortable with my snack filled diet and lack of exercise. Recently, I decided to implement a healthier diet due to the weight I had gained. So, I quickly set my mind and MOUTH to proclaim that I was going to stick to my diet. In just one week, I lost seven pounds. Woo hoo! Yay for me! Unfortunately, I still had eleven more pounds to go, to get back to my ideal weight. I knew I needed to exercise! I felt stuck because I hated the thought of it. I hate to sweat and can no longer afford the Pilates classes that I enjoy. Therefore, I lacked motivation to even get started.
A professional explained to me how emotions, thoughts and behaviors are intertwined. She said: behavior affects thinking and emotions; thoughts affect behavior and how you feel; but emotions require practice by changing your thoughts and behavior. Basically she was saying: if I want to feel motivated, or change my emotions about exercise, I need to function from a place of behavior, and not from emotion. Since behavior obeys thoughts, I need to renew my mind with more positive thoughts about exercise and put it into practice before I will feel any different about it.
The Bible tells us that we must constantly renew our mind through the reading of the Word, especially when it comes to eliminating strongholds. In my case, I had created a stronghold of negative thinking because of my disdain for exercise. I was not believing the truth of God’s word that says: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Proverbs 4:5) Instead, my behavior regarding exercise stemmed from obeying the negative thoughts I had about it. I inadvertently believed the lies of the devil, instead of what I know God says about me. So, now it’s time for me to practice what I preach. I am working on new thoughts regarding exercise and I have set a goal to start doing at least 30 minutes of exercise twice a week. I declare that I will function from behavior, not emotion, taking my thoughts to Christ, with that expectant attitude of hope for a new motivation to enjoy it. “I’ll keep you posted about my progress.” I am doing this in faith, awaiting the time that I will be motivated to add more days to my exercise plan, and persevere toward meeting my goal. And in the same way, my perseverance in reading the Bible will continue to drive out any negative thoughts.
Remember, it is the purpose of the enemy to engage us in a spiritual battle in life. He goes against the knowledge of God. He did it with Eve in the garden of Eden, and he is still doing it with us today. Therefore, you must renew your mind by knowing what the Bible says about you, so you won’t fall for the enemy’s lies. Every time a thought comes to mind, ask yourself what would Jesus say about this? And if you don’t know the answer, say a little prayer asking God to give you wisdom, and then open up His word and start reading. It can be truly amazing how the word of God comes to life and speaks to you through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The impact of toxins in the body
Toxins affect the functionality of the body by poisoning its necessary enzymes. They can weaken your bones by displacing structural minerals; they cause aging and degeneration by damaging DNA. Toxins have the ability to change your genetic structure by either activating or suppressing it in undesirable ways. They damage cell membranes, interfering with proper brain function, and they can also cause hormone imbalances. Finally, toxins damage the liver and kidneys, leading to serious illnesses, not to mention they prevent these organs from being able to rid toxins from the body.*
*Source: Institute for Natural Medicine, article by Joseph Pizzorno, ND
The list of substances that are toxic to the body is far too comprehensive to address in this blog, so I will focus on just a few common toxins and what you can do to eliminate them. Most people are already aware of the fact that smoking is toxic to your lungs. This applies to smoking tobaccos, marijuana and CBD oils, etc… Even eating too much of the wrong foods can be toxic. For example, eating too much of the wrong fats or excessive high glycemic carbs, like starches and sugars, cause your liver to work overtime, because starchy carbs actually get stored as fat. And forget about burning fat if you’re drinking alcohol, because the liver cannot burn both alcohol and fat at the same time. This can result in fatty liver disease, which if left unchecked can kill you. Many medications can be toxic, causing numerous side effects. For instance: In an earlier blog I spoke about my healing from a digestive disorder, technically called Gastro Paresis. The recommended treatment for this was the drug Reglan, which has side effects that cause another disease called Tardive Dykinesia. That disease causes uncontrollable shaking to the body. (Praise God for delivering me from this!) Therefore, I recommend researching the medications that are prescribed to you and the potential side effects they may cause. If you have concerns, get a second opinion and definitely pray to God, asking for wisdom for safe and effective treatment.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and he will give it to you.” James 1:5
The best thing you can do for your health is to try to avoid toxic substances. Habitual consumption of toxins will become a stronghold that is difficult to eliminate on your own. If habits like smoking, recreational drug use, alcohol consumption, or even over eating are an issue for you, let me encourage you to seek help from programs like AA, NA or OA, (Alcoholics Anonymous; Narcotics Anonymous; Over-eaters Anonymous), and / or a good therapist.
These offer sound advice to help you in overcoming addiction, but you will achieve maximum success when you accept your addiction as part of your sinful nature, and turn your heart back to God. Basically it comes down to the sin of idolatry, because anything you love more than God is an idol. We all have them in our life, in some form or another, and they are toxic to our spiritual well being. But, through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you will have access to gifts from God to help you overcome these strongholds. The bottom line this week is: what comes out of your mind is equally as important and what goes into your body! Check out the Abide meditation below.
Natural ways to detoxify your body
- Drink a glass of warm lemon water when you wake up
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day, half of your body weight in ounces.
- Exercise, stretch and sweat
- Eliminate processed foods
- Reduce salt intake
- Drink green juice
- Go vegetarian for 3 days with fruits and vegetables
- Get regular massages
- Breathing exercises
Thank you for reading my blog and letting me encourage you in the faith. For further information on some of the foundations for my belief in the power of new beginnings through a personal relationship with Jesus, please let me know so I may continue to encourage you in your walk with the Lord. Join me again next week as I discuss tools for understanding God’s Word and recreating salon-finished hair styles.
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