Breaking the Thought Patterns That Exhaust the Soul

plus a BOOK GIVEAWAY

If you’re new here, welcome! Every month I send out a newsletter with a short devotion, instruction about a spiritual practice to help you connect with God, resources to help you grow in faith, and a quick update about my personal and writing life.

Please note: free subscribers will receive a monthly newsletter on the first Tuesday of each month. Paid subscribers will get additional posts on the second, third, and fourth Tuesdays. Once a quarter, I will do a Zoom workshop instead of the weekly posts. Each month will explore a single theme. This month’s theme: Thought Patterns That Exhaust the Soul.

Do you run or walk on a treadmill for exercise? I don’t own that particular piece of equipment, but I often feel that my thoughts have jumped on a treadmill in my mind. Worry, guilt, or self-doubt seem to run through my brain incessantly.

And sometimes I have trouble finding the off switch.

I know I’m not alone. I recently asked my friends on Facebook, “When you find yourself spiraling in your head, what harmful thought patterns do you tend to dwell on?”

Some of the top answers were:

Worry or fear: What if ____________?

Helplessness: I don’t know how to fix this.

Bitterness: I can’t forget what they did.

Guilt or shame: I really messed up.

Inadequate: I am not enough.

I’m sure we’ve all battled thoughts like these before. They run on the treadmill of our minds, exhausting our souls, denying our hearts of the rest they need.

God’s Transforming Power

Thankfully, God has a way for us to get off those exhausting treadmills. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 12:2:

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

God can transform our thoughts and renew our minds. When we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we have the power—His power—to change our thought patterns. In 1 Corinthians, Paul also tells us, “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Because the Spirit lives in us, we have the mind of Christ—we can learn to think like Him.

The Way Our Brains Work

Because of the way God has created us, we have the power to rewire our brains. In recent years, modern science has shown that every thought we think changes our brains. When you first think something, you build a connection between neurons. Every time you repeat that thought, more myelin coats the sheath between the neurons, making the connection stronger.

Sometimes this is a good thing. When I’m teaching my piano students how to practice, I remind them that every correct repetition of a musical passage makes it easier for their fingers to do it automatically.

However, in the case of our harmful thoughts, this aspect of our biology can work against us. Every time we repeat the negative thought, we make it easier for our brain to go there automatically.

For instance, if I think, “I feel helpless. I don’t know how to fix this problem,” I build a connection in my neurons. Each time I repeat that thought, the connection becomes stronger until it seems I have no choice but to continue on that treadmill.

Rewire Your Brain

However, because we have the mind of Christ, we have the power to interrupt the thought pattern with God’s truth.

Instead of continuing to run on the treadmill of “I feel helpless,” I can jump off and instead turn to the Word of God. There, I discover that when I feel weak and helpless, I can rely on God’s power.

I start to repeat truths like:

• God tells me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9

• Paul reminds me of “the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead.” (Ephesians 1:19-20)

Using the treadmill analogy, I can jump off the “I’m helpless” treadmill and instead get on the “I have the power of Christ” treadmill.

Of course, at first our brains will automatically jump back to the original treadmill because that pathway is wired in our brains. But every time we interrupt those harmful thought patterns with new ones, the old connection becomes weaker, and the new one grows stronger. We can actually rewire our brains!

The wonderful thing about the treadmill of God’s truth is that when we jump on that one, the Holy Spirit provides the power and strength to keep it going. He gives us rest.

Keep reading to find a few simple steps toward the renewal of your mind.

Image by Lewis Good from Pixabay

Here are a few steps you can use to get off the treadmill of harmful thoughts and get on a new treadmill that offers God’s rest.

1. Identify your thought pattern. What harmful thoughts keep recurring?

2. Consciously notice and interrupt that thought.

3. Bring the thought to God. Tell Him about your pain, your struggle, your anxiety. Ask Him to reveal truth from His Word to counteract that thought.

4. Replace the harmful thought pattern with His truth.

5. Repeat as often as needed.

Eventually, your mind will build a new neural connection that makes it easier to abandon the exhausting treadmill and stay on the one where you can rest in God’s truth.

Stop the Spiral Devotional: 100 Days of Breaking Free from Negative Thoughts and Get Out of Your Head: Stopping the Spiral of Toxic Thoughts, both by Jennie Allen: These two books are great resources for learning more about how our brains work and how to use God’s Word to stop spiraling negative thoughts.

Discover Soul Rest video course: This course teaches principles of soul rest through videos and worksheets. Once you sign up, you can do the course at your own pace.

21 Five-Minute Soul-Rest Practices: If you want even more simple practices for soul rest, check out this free ebook.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: Because we can all struggle with the harmful thought patterns of “I can’t forget what they did” or “I really messed up,” I’m giving away a copy of Donna Pyle’s book: Forgiveness: Received from God, Extended to Others. If you would like to enter the drawing for this book, reply to this email with something like, “I’d like to win the book Forgiveness.” (This giveaway is only open to those living in the continental U.S.)

In April, I had the privilege of speaking at a lovely Ladies’ Tea at Trinity Lutheran Church in San Angelo, Texas. Due to multiple plane problems, getting there and back was quite an ordeal! However, the gracious ladies of Trinity Lutheran did an awesome job in creating a lovely and memorable event. I spoke on Divine Directions. Take a look at the effort they went to make the food, decorations, and favors match the topic of God’s guidance and our life journeys.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Texas (once I got there)! But my suitcase of books seemed to like Texas even more than I did. Luggage handlers sent my bag back and forth to Texas four times before it finally made it back to my house! (Sadly, some books were damaged in their travels.)

Here’s where I’ll be in the future!

May 11, 2026: Beloved Gathering, Bethel Church, Lansing, IL

June 12-14, 2026: LWML Eastern District Convention, Lancaster, PA

September 19, 2026: Women’s Retreat, New Beginnings Lutheran Church, Pacific, MO

September 25-26, 2026: LWML South Wisconsin District Retreat

October 23-24, 2026: Women’s Retreat, Concordia Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN

November 6-7, 2026: LWML-NED Eastern Zone Retreat, Hartford, Connecticut

Blessings,