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Part 3 of a five-part series by Kit Hinkle

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12 (ESV)

If you’re coming to us for the first time this week, begin with the part one of our posting on The Bout with Doubt- Part One: Introduction After reading the introduction to the series, follow through each part of the series as we walk through the steps of eliminating the habit of unhealthy anxiety.

Step One:      Recognizing habitual tears (Tuesday’s posting)

Step Two:      Observing the habit (Today’s posting)

Step Three:      Replacing a habit with Truth (Thursday’s posting)

Step Four:      Freedom to grieve honestly (Friday’s posting)

Yesterday we had the discussion about healthy grieving tears and a habitual pattern of anxiety. If you listen to what’s going on inside as you shed tears and talk it over with the Lord, He’ll reveal to you whether you’ve developed a habit of unhealthy self-doubt. I know I’ve had those habits in the past. At one point a friend offered this advice on breaking a habit. Don’t assume you can stop worry and anxiety on your own strength and overnight. Do the following instead: When you find yourself in an episode of unhealthy negative thinking, just notice the pattern. Label it.

I thought her advice was interesting. She didn’t put pressure on me that the tears of worry I relied on as a crutch had to stop right away, and that was a relief. She only suggested I keep the following idea in mind as I obsessed over the sadness:

“Oh, I see I’m repeating a habit.”

She said that the more you learn to recognize the habit without beating yourself up over it, the less power the habit has over you, until eventually, you’ll begin to observe your tears as though you were someone watching you in tears—someone loving, like a sister in Christ, looking at you and saying, “It’s okay. You’re not as alone as you think you are.” You can begin to embrace your sadness in an observant way, and then step aside and let it dissipate.

Then, every time an obsessive thought popped in my head, I could see it as a habit before it took root in my heart and threw me down the road of self-pity. It was my first step into a life of boldness!

Come back tomorrow to read about an even more powerful step towards eliminating a habit of doubt—replacing it with Truth!!!

Heavenly Father,
Would You please send Your Holy Spirit into the hearts of each and every one of my sisters here? Help them notice and discern habits of unhealthy anxiety they might have developed, and please help them know they don’t have to change it right away – just take the time to notice it. Help them to feel Your love.
Amen.