This is day 4 of a 5-part series about thinking wonderfully. For the previous blog post, click here.

I had a train to catch.

I can’t remember exactly where I was going, but I think I was travelling to another city.

I left the house, closed the door and headed for a bus, in order to catch a train from Liverpool Lime Street Train Station.

I hurriedly climbed our hilly street, found £1.90 in change, and clambered onto a Stagecoach bus.

Then, suddenly, a thought hit me.

Out of nowhere, one thought disturbed my entire bus ride: “you left the cooker on.”

I spent the whole bus journey asking for God’s peace, trying to fathom if the thought was a heavenly warning… or whether it was nothing more than a big, fat fear-trigger.

I got off the bus… I told myself that I was going to be late for my train, if I turned back home.

But that thought had hold of me… I couldn’t shake it off: “you’ve left your cooker on.”

Quickly, I hopped into an expensive taxi and told the taxi-driver to drive to my house immediately. I needed to check the cooker.

I was on edge. I was anxious. Would I make it back to Lime Street station, in time for my train?

As soon as I got home I ran to the kitchen and checked the cooker…

It wasn’t on.

Sure, I had left a light on.

But the cooker… not on. At all.

Embarrassed and late, I slid back into the taxi and lied to the driver…

Back to Liverpool Lime Street station we went.

By God’s grace, I made the train. But I must have spent the best part of an hour in panic mode.

As I am writing this story out, I am so aware that those of you that have experienced a panic attack before.

Such a simple task such as getting a train becomes an internal battle. Becomes sweat and near-tears. Becomes: “did I leave it on, will I be late, what if I did leave it on and the house burns down, what if I am late and I have wasted money on a train ticket…”

Sometimes, those disastrous thoughts don’t lead to a full-blown panic attack.

Sometimes they just niggle you in the background of your day.

Thoughts like:

What if this bad thing happens?

What if I have left my straighteners on and the house sets on fire?

If I listen to that negative story then that bad thing might also happen to me.

You’ve not locked the door.

This isn’t going to work out for you.

So, what should you do when panic comes? How can we stay calm when a disastrous thought hits?

1.Believe that God is good.

The bible says:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 1 John 4:18, NIV.

When you have a thought that panics you, or drives you to fear: it is NOT God.

God says there is NO fear in perfect love. He IS perfect love and so there is absolutely no fear in Him. Zero.

Therefore, the author of love is not going to speak a word to you to make you tremble and fear and fret and panic. He is love Himself. Kind, tender, compassionate and full of mercy in His eyes.

Jesus actually says:

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…

Matthew 6:25, ESV, my emphasis.

The God who tells you to not be anxious about life will never ever give you a thought that drives you to fear and anxiety. He is so good. Believe in His goodness.

2. Believe that God delivers you.

Psalm 139 says:

Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139: 23: 24, NIV.

I think it’s important for us to give God permission to search us and pick out any anxious thoughts lurking in our brains.

Sometimes a small anxious thought can grow and grow, until it becomes a panic attack. By connecting with God daily and giving Him permission to lead us, we set ourselves u to live free from anxious thoughts.

It’s like checking a child’s hair for head-lice!

Head-lice, or nits, are little insects that live on hair – they are very common in young children and can pass from head-to-head.

In order to combat head-lice, a parent usually combs through a child’s hair, picking the lice out.

The child would not be able to do this on their own accord.

But their parent, or carer, can locate the nits and stop them from feeding on the child’s scalp.

It’s a grim picture to paint! But isn’t this like God! If we let Him sift through our thoughts, He will eek-out the bad ones and give us a way to freedom!

3. Believe that God is speaking to you.

God is always speaking. He wants to talk to you.

Jesus says:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…

John 10: 27, KJV.

If there is a particular disastrous thought that keeps coming to your mind, ask Jesus for a fresh word to combat the lie.

For instance, when I feel anxious about leaving my house, I could say:

“God how are you giving me peace today?”

The first thing that comes to mind is:

“I am the prince of peace – the very author of peace itself – and I am not going to leave you, no matter what happens.”

I feel as though He is strong with me – stronger than all anxious thoughts.

If I were to write the above thought down, I could put it in my pocket. I could look at it whenever I started to think anxiously.

You could do the same. If you are always having horrible thoughts about someone leaving you – ask God to show you how secure you are in Christ.

If you are afraid of getting an illness, ask God about His protection and healing.

If you are frequently having thoughts about bad things happening in your life, ask God about the plans He has for you.

Conclusion

Disastrous thoughts can de-rail a perfectly good day.

I am not expecting you to read this one post and never have a panic-ridden thought again.

I am, on the other hand, hoping that you will begin to believe that there is another way. I am praying that you will dare to challenge those disastrous thoughts, when they enter your brain.

Believe that God is good, He will deliver you and He will speak a better word to you. Believe that bad thoughts only have power when you pay them attention.

And, when you’ve let a bad thought have its moment – move on! Don’t beat yourself up. There are better thoughts ahead that God wants you to enjoy… you just have to ask Him to give you them.

You can do this!