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Rewire Your Brain: Unlock Faith, Overcome Anxiety, Find Peace
Building Highways in Your Mind: FaithAnxietyHelp.com
James Irvine
May 28, 2025
Rewire Your Brain: Unlock Faith, Overcome Anxiety, Find Peace
Did you know that your thoughts are constantly shaping your brain? For many years, scientists believed the brain was fully formed in adulthood and couldn't change, with no new growth or reshaping possible. However, in recent decades, they've discovered that the brain is constantly changing, not set in stone, but more like plastic that can be molded and reshaped. This amazing process is happening every time you think a thought.
Building Highways in Your Mind
Every thought you think creates a neural pathway in your mind, like a roadway. The more you think a specific thought, the easier it becomes to think it again because that road is already established. Repetitive thoughts make that path wider and deeper. This isn't just happening mentally; something physical is occurring in your brain as neurons create pathways that accommodate what you are telling it. When a path becomes really established, it's like you're on autopilot, just following that road. Have you ever driven somewhere familiar, daydreaming, and suddenly realized you weren't paying attention to the road? Your neurons have built a highway in your mind that can take over without much mental energy. This happens naturally because of what repetitive thoughts have established.
As a Person Thinks, So They Become
This scientific discovery aligns with ancient wisdom. The scripture in Proverbs tells us, "as a person thinks, so he will become". This isn't just a metaphor; your thinking is actually giving instructions to your brain. Your repetitive thoughts are giving an assignment. Like a command center, your thinking tells your neurons how to function, creating the very roadways your brain will use.
The Impact of Negative Highways
If you repeatedly think negative thoughts like, "Nothing good ever happens to me" or "I'll never get out of this problem," you are actively building a highway for those thoughts. Every time you think them, your neurons go to work, creating pathways to make it easier to think that way the next time. Over time, these negative highways can become a significant part of who we are. Some of us have built extensive negative highways for thoughts like "not good enough," "guilt," "I can't forgive," or "I'm not disciplined". If you've been thinking this way for years, it might not be just a small road but a four-lane highway with the best pavement, making it easy to travel down at high speed. Recognizing what is happening when you're tempted by these thoughts is key – you are building something you don't want. It's going to feel easy to think them because the highway you've built is so big.
Taking Control: Close Off the Negative Roads
The good news is, you get to choose which pathways your brain establishes. You don't have to stay stuck in negative patterns. You can rewire your brain and create new neural pathways that work for you rather than against you. It's time to put your foot down and say, "No thanks, I am not going to use my mental energy to build roads that are going to work against me".
The best thing you can do is put up some road closure signs. When a thought comes like, "Nothing good is in my future," declare, "Sorry, that road is closed! I don't need that path anymore!". You can tell your internal foreman to stop building the "I can't do it highway" or the "always be addicted roadway". Instead, you command the crew to start building the "something good is going to happen freeway!".
Wiring Your Brain for Faith and Victory
This isn't just about positive thinking; it's about intentionally directing your thoughts to build pathways that align with faith. When you repeatedly think things like, "Father, thank you that my path is getting brighter and brighter, that you're taking me from victory to victory," your neurons are firing, and cells are working to create pathways for what you're repeatedly thinking.
Consider the power of starting your day by saying, "Something good is going to happen to me today". This simple, repetitive thought builds an "autopilot" pathway for expecting God's goodness. Just as an online algorithm shows you more of what you click on, your thoughts create an internal "algorithm" that brings more of what you focus on. If you live worried or stressed, you've created pathways that make the negative easier, and like that algorithm, you'll find plenty of reasons to worry. Put up some road closures for worry, fear, and the "what ifs". Get on the "algorithm" of favor by thanking God for His plans for you and for fighting your battles. This creates pathways of peace and trust.
Meditating on God's Word
The scripture says to meditate on God's word day and night. Meditation in this context means thinking about the same thing over and over. It's not passive but involves continually thinking about what God says about you. When you meditate on truths like "God says you're a masterpiece, fearfully and wonderfully made," your neurons are actively wiring your brain. Thinking things like "I'm valuable," "I'm a masterpiece," "I'm crowned with favor," and "I have seeds of greatness, the DNA of Almighty God" builds strong, established highways in your brain for these beliefs.
Overcoming Mental Ruts
Sometimes, through years of negative thinking, we find ourselves in mental ruts. These are like the physical ditch described in the source – easy to get into but hard to get out of. Thinking thoughts like "I'm a victim," "I've been through too much," or "I'll never get well" creates these limiting ruts. These aren't just thoughts; you've paved a road that keeps you stuck.
The difference for us is that you can get out of your mental ditch. You can break any stronghold holding you back. The forces for you are greater than the forces against you. When you agree with God and start meditating on what He says, your repetitive thoughts become full of faith, hope, and victory. This is what it means to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Instead of "I'm a victim," say, "I am a victor! God always causes me to triumph!". Instead of "This sickness is the end," declare, "God is restoring health back unto me; the number of my days He will fulfill!". This isn't just positive thinking or faith; it's actively rewiring your brain, building new highways to bring you out of that rut.
Like the man who was always sour and expecting the worst but was transformed by changing his thinking, or the woman who overcame years of bitterness after a divorce by rewiring her brain with thoughts of grace and God's restoration, you can change. Even figures like Gideon, who saw himself as the least but became a mighty hero by changing his internal recording to align with God's word, show us this powerful principle.
You are the command center. You get to choose what you think about. Pay attention to your repetitive thoughts. Are they building pathways you want to travel down, or are they working against you?.
Learning New Ways of Thinking
Just as some of us have learned to be discouraged, insecure, or expect the worst, we can also learn to be happy, stay in peace, and have faith. It all starts by changing what you think about. When you start thinking the right thoughts, it's not just affecting you mentally; your brain is literally creating new pathways that work for you. The Apostle Paul said, "I have learned how to be content". He didn't say he was born that way; he learned it and had to be disciplined in what he thought and guard his mind. You too can learn to guard your mind and choose thoughts that build you up.