260: Who’s the Gatekeeper of Your Thoughts?
Last Updated on July 19, 2024 by Alicia Michelle
Are you managing the thoughts that come into your mind? Our mind is the most valuable real estate in our body and if we can protect it, we can make a dramatic difference in how we live, function, and see God in our everyday lives. Join me as I explore the concept of a mental gatekeeper including why they are so important and powerful strategies to develop a mental gatekeeper that will help you discover more confidence, joy and peace!
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- [03:30] We Don’t Have to Accept Every Thought That Comes Into Our Mind
- [06:30] Who Do You Have “Manning The Gate” When a Thought Comes in?
- [09:00] Why is a Gatekeeper So Important? Our Thoughts Shape Our Brains
- [13:03] Four Patterns That Present As Gatekeepers – What Are Yours?
- [21:10] We Want a Gatekeeper That Models The Holy Spirit’s Voice
- [24:17] Addressing Your Gatekeepers with the Christian Mindset Makeover
[03:30] We Don’t Have to Accept Every Thought That Comes Into Our Mind
Is your mind spinning with thousands of thoughts each day? It has been estimated that some people have as many as 40,000 thoughts a day. One of the first things we have to understand when learning about renewing our minds is that we do not have to accept every thought that comes in. Just because we feel or hear something does not mean that we need to take that on as part of what is going into our minds to process. Our mind is the most valuable real estate in our entire body. Every action we take starts with our thoughts. If we can protect this real estate, we can make a dramatic difference in how we live, function, and see God in our everyday lives.
The Bible gives us several verses about choosing what we are going to focus on and making sure that the “gatekeeper” that we choose is lined up with who God says that He wants us to be. Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “Today I've given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life so that you and your descendants might live.” There are so many choices that the Israelites had to make. For example, when Joshua and Caleb went into the Promised Land, they chose to allow the thoughts of the possibilities that God could do there versus the fear that the rest of the Israelites had.
The thoughts we allow into our minds are almost like who we allow into a party. Who we allow into a party will influence how the party goes. Whatever thoughts we allow into our minds are going to affect what is already in there.
[06:30] Who Do You Have “Manning The Gate” When a Thought Comes in?
A “gatekeeper” is a metaphor that we use in the Christian Mindset Makeover. We can think of this gatekeeper as a bouncer at a club. He decides who comes in and out of the club and he has the final word. We need to have a bouncer in our minds who directs what thoughts we do and do not allow in. This is not a call to perfection. We are human. We may get lost in the chaos of what someone is saying, the fear we are feeling, or a spiral from a situation. A gatekeeper is an orientation that we are aiming for that the Holy Spirit is always shaping and guiding.
Take a moment to think about who you have “manning the gate” when a thought comes in. I want to remind you again that you do not have to believe or come into agreement with any thoughts that enters your mind. Just because someone speaks something over us does not make it true. We need to guard our hearts with diligence from the wellsprings of life as the Bible says.
We have the ability to step into life or death with every choice that we make. Those choices start with our thoughts and what we choose to believe or let in. We do not have to step into the drama even if it is going on all around us. If you have drama in your family or if you have things that people have said over you, it does not mean that you have to believe it – you always have a choice.
[09:00] Why is a Gatekeeper So Important? Our Thoughts Shape Our Brains
The reason why a gatekeeper is so important is because it guards the mental real estate that is there. In a few weeks, I will be exploring the concept of neuroplasticity but I wanted to briefly bring up this topic today. Our brains are ever-changing, it is “plastic” so to speak. There are always new neurons coming in and things being taken out. Our brains are constantly being changed by the thoughts and emotions that we allow in. A chemical change also happens in our brains and when we have a thought, it is reinforced by glucose (sugar). We have to be mindful of what thoughts are being reinforced in our minds.
In the Christian Mindset Makeover, we talk about how there are neural networks that create soundtracks in our subconscious mind that are running the show. No matter if we cognitively say something different, if we have not addressed the soundtracks deep within us, we are going to live from them. Our brain is shaped by what we choose to focus on and what we choose to build. And as Christians, it is so important to have a mind that is focused on Christ and the Bible. As it says in Galatians 5, “Imitate His ways” and that starts by determining what thoughts we are going to let in because this dictates how we live for God.
I recently had a conversation with my youngest son who is a middle schooler. As you know, in middle school, everything is changing. He had shared with me that there were some things he was thinking and I lovingly challenged him by saying, “Hey, buddy, don’t say that stuff over yourself. Even if you feel that right now, don't keep saying it because whatever you tell your mind, it is going to believe it. And that is not what God says about you.” We need to let our minds be refreshed by what God's word says. It is okay to have these thoughts because we all do – but we need to have the right gatekeepers who do not let these thoughts come through.
[13:03] Four Patterns That Present As Gatekeepers – What Are Yours?
Although I cannot cover all of them, there are a few main gatekeepers that may have been present in your life. It is all part of the process of moving from a human doing to a human being – you notice what you are responding to and see how you filter this information.
One gatekeeper that can be present is this idea of our circumstances or our feelings about a situation. For example, my husband and I dealt with extended periods of unemployment. It was very tempting to allow the frustration of that circumstance to become the gatekeeper. To think “God is not with me, He does not love me, He has forgotten us.” I want to remind you that there will be things that come up and we have the choice in the moment to decide whether we are going to let that be the gatekeeper for what we are experiencing. I had to fight every day to not allow this to happen and instead say “No, I am not going to let that thought rule my mind and have my brain be shifted by these thoughts.” I reminded myself that God is with us and I did not let these thoughts deter, deflect, or change the truth about who I am in Christ.
Another pattern that might present as a gatekeeper are these deep emotional patterns like a need to be perfect, to make others happy, and to feel worthy. We address these in the Christian Mindset Makeover where I help you figure out the patterns around how your brain answered the questions of “Am I worthy? Am I loved? Am I enough?” – between the ages of 9-13. We address what we need to believe to change the subconscious pattern that says, “I am more worthy when I (fill in the blank).” We use brain science and the Bible together to change this pattern to the reality of our infinite worth in Christ.
The next gatekeeper that was recently revealed to me was a pattern where we are a slave to certain people or ideologies in our lives. For me, God was showing me how I was trying to do whatever I could to make sure that people around me saw me in a certain way and that they were never unhappy with how I was. This became the gatekeeper for my thoughts. Everything I did was about not upsetting someone else or making sure that I controlled how they felt about me. This took me back to a memory of myself in third grade. I had a birthday party and was handing out flyers to my friends and a girl who was a bully to me in class said “I want to go to your party.” I instantly felt pressured and I was so afraid of upsetting her so I invited her to the party. I was so stressed out imagining what would happen if she came – I let her opinion of me guide how I responded. Do you also allow the fear of disappointment to influence the thoughts you allow in and out?
The last gatekeeper we are going to talk about is the nonexistent one. If there is no gatekeeper, then anything can come through. This gatekeeper reinforces everything in our day-to-day lives. If we feel sad then we are sad, and there is nothing to control it. One of the greatest skills we can learn in this modern age is to control what is in our heads. We must decide to put the best gatekeeper at the door and be intentional about it. So many Bible verses say how “A city without walls is ripe for being taken over.” The same thing goes for our minds. If we do not have anyone defending that truth and we have not created a barrier for what is allowed in, we are at the mercy of all of the thousands of thoughts we have each day.
[21:10] We Want a Gatekeeper That Models The Holy Spirit’s Voice
Now that we know what gatekeepers we do not want, we need to know which we do want. The gatekeeper that we want models the Holy Spirit's voice. It is not the Holy Spirit himself but instead, we are called to develop that inner voice in us that is in line with the Spirit. We get to decide if our gatekeeper will follow or not follow God. One of the greatest gifts of a good gatekeeper who models the Holy Spirit’s voice is that He is going to keep our thoughts focused on God and His peace. As Isaiah 26:3 says, “He keeps in perfect peace, those whose thoughts are focused on Him.”
Jesus gave us peace and we need to protect and maintain it. Even when there is turmoil going on in our minds, our gatekeeper can help us combat this. I recently heard a quote from Joyce Meyer, where she said, “The devil sets you up to steal your peace. Jesus gave you your peace and don't let anyone steal that from you.” This quote really hit me because I thought, How many times have I allowed what the devil put in front of me to steal the gift of God's peace? When we allow these spiraling thoughts to come in, we are allowing the devil to steal our peace.
In John 14:27 Jesus said, “I am leaving you with a gift, peace of mind and heart. And the peace that I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.” If you struggle with this idea of peace in the midst of the craziness in your head, ask yourself, “Am I giving away my peace because I do not have the right gatekeeper there?” Then we can choose a gatekeeper that is more aligned with who we want to be in Christ.
[24:17] Addressing Your Gatekeepers with the Christian Mindset Makeover
The next step in all of this is to address the gatekeepers that come up the most. There may be a gatekeeper who comes in and wants to make everyone happy when you are at your sister's house.
There may be a gatekeeper who comes up at your mother-in-law's house who is defending the way you are raising your children.
There may be a pattern where you feel the need to be perfect or to please others. You may even have a pattern of anxiety where fear takes over.
What are the guiding thoughts when these gatekeepers are manning the gate? We need to identify which gatekeeper is there but we do not have to condemn ourselves for it. Jesus is not shaming you, He is not here to say, “You should just listen to my word, what is wrong with you?”
The point of this is to ask God for His help to change these gatekeepers. Take some time to sit with a journal and bring it before the Lord. Use mindfulness tools to tap into what is happening, what the triggers are, and what might be the gatekeeper that is influencing what is coming in and out.
If you need extra help restructuring and understanding these deep-seated soundtrack gatekeepers, please check out the Christian Mindset Makeover. Summer is a great chance to work on yourself to get a fresh start for the rest of the year. Do not let the next six months go to waste by letting these soundtracks be in charge of what comes into your mind. I encourage you to learn more about what we do in the makeover and how it can help you refresh your mind on these deeper levels. We get to the root of the soundtracks, we are rewiring the neural pathways that are attached to what these feelings are, and we are replacing them with God's truth.
Also, please make sure to share this episode with a friend. I would love to be able to let as many people as possible find this freedom in Christ by understanding the concept of the gatekeeper. It is freeing and liberating to know that we are in charge of understanding and filtering our thoughts!
And if you haven’t already, please remember to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts. Then take a screenshot of the review and send it to hello@vibrantchristianliving.com and we will send you 50 “I am” statements that you can listen to or read that are about your identity in Christ – for free!
RESOURCES:
Ready for a step-by-step plan based on the Bible + brain science to identify + rewire subconscious thoughts so they line up with your true identity in Christ? Join us in the Christian Mindset Makeover!
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