When "thoughts" make you sick

"Is that thought worth making you sick?"  Last night before I went to bed I started to think about everything I wasn't doing and hadn't done with my 3 yr old to prepare him for preschool.  As I thought about it, these feelings of dread began to try to take up residence in my gut.  For the first time I can recall, I stepped out of myself and asked myself, "What is this thought doing for me?"  That particular thread of thought had no potential to produce anything good in my life.  I knew that, because I witnessed the negative impact of it physically, almost immediately.  Of coarse, it's not a "bad" thing to want your child prepared for school.  But our thought patterns can take something that is positive and turn it into something "toxic" in your body.  What do you do when you believe you should be considering and thinking about something, but when you think about it;  it causes dread to rise up in your body. 

The first things to do, is observe any symptoms in your body that occur as you think about "certain" things.  Symptoms could be a tightening in the stomach, head, or chest.  There are other symptoms that could accompany certain things you think about.  I have even had diarrhea based on something I was thinking about that was overwhelming to me.  When I observe these symptoms occurring, it tells me that whatever I'm thinking about is producing a negative affect on me and I need to not think about it at this time.  It has nothing to do with whether or not the subject of my thoughts is "good" or "bad".  At that time the subject matter is having a negative effect on me, and that is my body trying to tell me that it's not a healthy choice for me to think about at that time.

What do we do, if there is something that stresses us out, but is also an important and pressing need?  How can we not think about it?  That's where you start learning to cast your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you. 

1Peter 5

“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”^[b]

⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

If there is something in your life that is pressing, yet overwhelming for you to think about, you have to choose to make it a matter of prayer, instead of it being a matter of thought.  It's too big for you, so give it to God.  There are things that should only be matters of prayer and other things that are matters of thought.  What does God say about "matters of thought"?

Philippians4 

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].  

  

There are specific types of things that your mind should be consumed with, then there are specific things that should ONLY be matters of prayer.  Learning the difference is key to living a healthy, faith-filled life.  

The first step is becoming keenly aware of the affects, of your thoughts, on your body and making informed decisions on the paths you are going to travel when it comes to your thoughts.

^{Deuteronomy 30}

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 

There are paths we can travel that will produce faith.

There are paths we can travel that will produce fear.  

Learning to discern and make the choice is something God can help you with.