Are you tormented by depression?
This is a woman's struggle through eight years of emotional illness, shock treatments, prescription drugs and hopelessness--culminated in absolute victory by God's supernatural delivering power.
Excerpt from Tormented: Eight Years and Back
"The Exchange System - Taking Negative Thoughts Captive"
One of the things God spoke to me was that I must make the Word of God my final authority in every area of my life, and I remember how impossible that sounded at the time. I reasoned that there were things in the Bible that went so contrary to the world that I couldn’t imagine being able to function in this life and rely totally on the Word at the same time. It would be like trying to live in two different worlds simultaneously.
It was during this period of time that a friend invited me to go with her to hear a prophet who was ministering in this little church across town. I had never heard of a modern day prophet, therefore, I was without a clue. And to be honest, the only reason I consented to go was out of curiosity. The church was full and the only place I could find to sit was in the middle of one of the back pews, so I certainly was not in a conspicuous place.
During the ministry time the prophet pointed straight at me and asked if I would come forward because the Lord had a Word for me. I had never heard a prophecy before. I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly was not anticipating the gamut of emotions that followed. The Lord began to say through this prophet, "God wants you to make up your mind that you are going to choose to believe His Word. God wants you to decide that you are going to make His Word your final authority. God just wants you to make a choice to believe Him over everything else. God wants you to make up your mind that from this day forth you are going to choose to believe His Word."
I don’t know how many times that was repeated (maybe once for each 10,000 times I had doubted the Lord), but it sounded like a broken record, and my first wave of emotion was embarrassment over what all these people must be thinking. Finally, I forgot the people and started listening to what was being said. God was telling me how to do what I had been told to do earlier. He was giving me the secret for making the Word my final authority. Instantly, something inside me just clicked, and I realized that it was merely a choice—just a simple decision to believe God’s Word, and I didn’t have to feel anything. So standing there in that little church that night, I determined in my heart to make God’s Word my final authority—the most liberating thing I have ever done in my life.
After I passed that first hurdle, the Word gradually started coming alive. God began to show me the schemes of the enemy over my life, and He spoke the words "exchange system" to me. As simple as this little exchange system sounds, it is the way in which we can win the battle against the enemy every time. No matter what the battle might be, every single time it will start in the mind and affect the emotions. It will be the same dynamics—no matter what area is being hit.
The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I
have come that you might have life and life
more abundantly. John 10: 10
I am going to explain the exchange system in a nutshell because it is so effective. The Lord showed me to take every thought that did not line up with the Word of God—every thought that tried to steal my peace, rob my joy or destroy in any way—and exchange that negative thought for a thought from God’s Word. He impressed me that the exchange system works no matter what the thought might be—a thought of sickness, fear, despair, insecurity, jealousy, divorce, lust…whatever. I was to take the contrary thought and exchange it for a contrasting thought from God’s Word. That is exactly what Paul was writing to the church at Corinth.
Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and pull down the strongholds and lofty things raised up against the know-ledge of God.
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5
When I first started taking these negative thoughts captive, it took a great deal of time. At least ninety-nine percent of my thinking must have been influenced by fears, doubts, insecurities... I was not necessarily a negative person, but I had formed habits of thinking on things that didn’t line up with the Word, and every one of those thought patterns had to be exchanged if I wanted to be set totally free.
© 2006, Peggy Joyce Ruth
http://www.peggyjoyceruth.org
"The Exchange System - Taking Negative Thoughts Captive"
One of the things God spoke to me was that I must make the Word of God my final authority in every area of my life, and I remember how impossible that sounded at the time. I reasoned that there were things in the Bible that went so contrary to the world that I couldn’t imagine being able to function in this life and rely totally on the Word at the same time. It would be like trying to live in two different worlds simultaneously.
It was during this period of time that a friend invited me to go with her to hear a prophet who was ministering in this little church across town. I had never heard of a modern day prophet, therefore, I was without a clue. And to be honest, the only reason I consented to go was out of curiosity. The church was full and the only place I could find to sit was in the middle of one of the back pews, so I certainly was not in a conspicuous place.
During the ministry time the prophet pointed straight at me and asked if I would come forward because the Lord had a Word for me. I had never heard a prophecy before. I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly was not anticipating the gamut of emotions that followed. The Lord began to say through this prophet, "God wants you to make up your mind that you are going to choose to believe His Word. God wants you to decide that you are going to make His Word your final authority. God just wants you to make a choice to believe Him over everything else. God wants you to make up your mind that from this day forth you are going to choose to believe His Word."
I don’t know how many times that was repeated (maybe once for each 10,000 times I had doubted the Lord), but it sounded like a broken record, and my first wave of emotion was embarrassment over what all these people must be thinking. Finally, I forgot the people and started listening to what was being said. God was telling me how to do what I had been told to do earlier. He was giving me the secret for making the Word my final authority. Instantly, something inside me just clicked, and I realized that it was merely a choice—just a simple decision to believe God’s Word, and I didn’t have to feel anything. So standing there in that little church that night, I determined in my heart to make God’s Word my final authority—the most liberating thing I have ever done in my life.
After I passed that first hurdle, the Word gradually started coming alive. God began to show me the schemes of the enemy over my life, and He spoke the words "exchange system" to me. As simple as this little exchange system sounds, it is the way in which we can win the battle against the enemy every time. No matter what the battle might be, every single time it will start in the mind and affect the emotions. It will be the same dynamics—no matter what area is being hit.
The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I
have come that you might have life and life
more abundantly. John 10: 10
I am going to explain the exchange system in a nutshell because it is so effective. The Lord showed me to take every thought that did not line up with the Word of God—every thought that tried to steal my peace, rob my joy or destroy in any way—and exchange that negative thought for a thought from God’s Word. He impressed me that the exchange system works no matter what the thought might be—a thought of sickness, fear, despair, insecurity, jealousy, divorce, lust…whatever. I was to take the contrary thought and exchange it for a contrasting thought from God’s Word. That is exactly what Paul was writing to the church at Corinth.
Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and pull down the strongholds and lofty things raised up against the know-ledge of God.
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5
When I first started taking these negative thoughts captive, it took a great deal of time. At least ninety-nine percent of my thinking must have been influenced by fears, doubts, insecurities... I was not necessarily a negative person, but I had formed habits of thinking on things that didn’t line up with the Word, and every one of those thought patterns had to be exchanged if I wanted to be set totally free.
© 2006, Peggy Joyce Ruth
http://www.peggyjoyceruth.org
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