“KILLING THE GIANTS”
(TEN COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS)
TEXTS: I Kings 17:1-6; Romans 12:2; I Samuel 17:32-51
SUBJECT: “killing the Giant of “All or Nothing Thinking”
INTRODUCTION:
Let’s begin by a brief explanation of the above scripture texts. First, in I Kings 17:1-6, God commanded the ravens to feed the prophet Elijah during a famine. This was a supernatural provision of God, but it came by an unclean bird, the raven. The point is that God delivered what the prophet needed through an “unclean” source. I reference this text because when God led me to a book, “Feeling Good,” by Dr. David Burns I was concerned that it was not written from or with a Christian viewpoint. When I questioned Him about it, His response was I Kings 17:1-6. It was from this “secular” source or book that I learned about the ten cognitive distortions. A cognitive distortion is simply wrong and harmful thinking that can cause anxiety and depression. I think you will be surprised at how this wrong thinking affects most of us in one way or another. Secondly, in Romans 12:2 the Word of God tells us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In other words, the way to transformation is by changing the way that you think. You can't change the way you feel until you change how you think. And of course the way that we do that as Christians is through the Word of God. Then third, we will use I Samuel 17:32-51, the scripture where David faced the giant Goliath and killed him. In these messages, we will face and kill all ten giants of cognitive distortions. The end result is to see you set completely free from all anxieties and depression. And experience full restoration of all that belongs to you! Jubilee!
1. What is the giant of all or nothing thinking? You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
I have been affected by this giant of wrong or distorted thinking because I allowed it to cause in me a fear of failure. That would mean, at times, I wouldn’t want to try to do something new for fear of failing at it. So when a new challenge would come along it would cause me to be anxious or experience anxiety. Why? Because it was all or nothing on my part.
Maybe you can relate? Even now you are feeling a bit anxious just by me talking about it. But please listen carefully; the only way to conquer this giant and overcome it is to face it! This “Goliath” will go down if you will trust God. And we can do this together! You are not alone.
Call it “what if” thinking. What if I fail? What if I make a fool out of myself? What if I let down the people who are depending on me? Negative “What if” thinking is wrong thinking!
Illustration: When I played little league football, I didn’t want my Dad—the most loving and affirming man I have ever known—to come and watch me practice because I didn’t want to fail in front of him! The fear of failure can cause a lot of anxiety!
2. So then, how do we slay this giant of all or nothing thinking?
A. First of all, realize that your self-worth is not based on what you do or do not accomplish. Rather, your self-worth is based on your position: who you are in Christ.
1. With this belt of truth wrapped around your waist, lift up the shield of faith and quench the devil’s dart of “all or nothing thinking” when he tells you: “you’re not pretty enough; you’re not talented enough; you’re a loser; you’ll never amount to anything; you’re just a failure; you can’t do anything right; you might as well not even try.”
2. Then take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and take this giant’s head off!
A. II Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Make this declaration of faith: I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. My position in God’s Son is my self-worth and not how I look or what I do or don’t do.
B. Ephesians 1:4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Make this declaration based on God’s Word: I am one of God’s chosen ones in Christ, I am holy and blameless in Him—that makes me special!
C. Ephesians 1:5 “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ. . .” Declaration of faith: I am a child of the living God! He chose me and adopted me into His family, not because of how I look or how talented or gifted I am, but because He loves me unconditionally in Christ.
D. Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of His grace.” Declaration of faith: God loves me so much that He shed the blood of His only-begotten Son so that I could be forgiven and be with Him forever!
E. Revelation 1:5 “. . . to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood.”
Declaration of Faith: Jesus loves me; He shed His blood for me! That is where I find my value!
I declare, based on God’s Word that is forever settled in the heavens; the Word that is sharper than a two-edged sword, that penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart; the word that is the truth and cannot lie. . .
Because Father-God loves me unconditionally and perfectly, (He has set His will to love me forever) I am free to try and fail without any fear of condemnation. My relationship with my heavenly Father is not and never will be based on my performance, but instead is based on His grace and mercy to me in Jesus Christ.
The only opinion that truly matters to me is my heavenly Father’s. If I fail, His love for me doesn’t change. His love, grace, and mercy give me the confidence that I need to keep trying and to never quit or give up. Therefore, I will not be afraid to try and fail, for my self-worth is grounded in the truth of the Father’s love for me in Christ. Because I am in Christ forever, I cannot fail no matter what!
Allow me here to make a common sense statement that I think will also help you in facing and defeating the giant of all or nothing thinking. What if you do try something and fail? Is that the end of the world? Of course it’s not. Learn from your mistakes and try again. Don’t allow the fear of failure to keep you from trying. You want always get it perfect, but who does? Just give it your best shot and then rest in that. If someone can’t deal with it, that is NOT your problem.
Connie’s first attempts at cooking when we got married were, let’s just say, not exactly perfect! But I didn’t die, and she kept working at it and now she is a very good cook. Still not perfect, but very close!
Be willing to face your fear of not getting it perfect. You will find that when you do you will conquer it. And that will be one giant down! Remember, you’re not perfect. There was only One who was perfect and that is Jesus. But you are chosen, forgiven, and loved unconditionally in Him! Live in that truth and you will overcome your fear of failing.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of the deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who neither know victory or defeat.” President Theodore Roosevelt.
(TEN COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS)
TEXTS: I Kings 17:1-6; Romans 12:2; I Samuel 17:32-51
SUBJECT: “killing the Giant of “All or Nothing Thinking”
INTRODUCTION:
Let’s begin by a brief explanation of the above scripture texts. First, in I Kings 17:1-6, God commanded the ravens to feed the prophet Elijah during a famine. This was a supernatural provision of God, but it came by an unclean bird, the raven. The point is that God delivered what the prophet needed through an “unclean” source. I reference this text because when God led me to a book, “Feeling Good,” by Dr. David Burns I was concerned that it was not written from or with a Christian viewpoint. When I questioned Him about it, His response was I Kings 17:1-6. It was from this “secular” source or book that I learned about the ten cognitive distortions. A cognitive distortion is simply wrong and harmful thinking that can cause anxiety and depression. I think you will be surprised at how this wrong thinking affects most of us in one way or another. Secondly, in Romans 12:2 the Word of God tells us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In other words, the way to transformation is by changing the way that you think. You can't change the way you feel until you change how you think. And of course the way that we do that as Christians is through the Word of God. Then third, we will use I Samuel 17:32-51, the scripture where David faced the giant Goliath and killed him. In these messages, we will face and kill all ten giants of cognitive distortions. The end result is to see you set completely free from all anxieties and depression. And experience full restoration of all that belongs to you! Jubilee!
1. What is the giant of all or nothing thinking? You see things in black and white categories. If your performance falls short of perfect, you see yourself as a total failure.
I have been affected by this giant of wrong or distorted thinking because I allowed it to cause in me a fear of failure. That would mean, at times, I wouldn’t want to try to do something new for fear of failing at it. So when a new challenge would come along it would cause me to be anxious or experience anxiety. Why? Because it was all or nothing on my part.
Maybe you can relate? Even now you are feeling a bit anxious just by me talking about it. But please listen carefully; the only way to conquer this giant and overcome it is to face it! This “Goliath” will go down if you will trust God. And we can do this together! You are not alone.
Call it “what if” thinking. What if I fail? What if I make a fool out of myself? What if I let down the people who are depending on me? Negative “What if” thinking is wrong thinking!
Illustration: When I played little league football, I didn’t want my Dad—the most loving and affirming man I have ever known—to come and watch me practice because I didn’t want to fail in front of him! The fear of failure can cause a lot of anxiety!
2. So then, how do we slay this giant of all or nothing thinking?
A. First of all, realize that your self-worth is not based on what you do or do not accomplish. Rather, your self-worth is based on your position: who you are in Christ.
1. With this belt of truth wrapped around your waist, lift up the shield of faith and quench the devil’s dart of “all or nothing thinking” when he tells you: “you’re not pretty enough; you’re not talented enough; you’re a loser; you’ll never amount to anything; you’re just a failure; you can’t do anything right; you might as well not even try.”
2. Then take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and take this giant’s head off!
A. II Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Make this declaration of faith: I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. My position in God’s Son is my self-worth and not how I look or what I do or don’t do.
B. Ephesians 1:4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Make this declaration based on God’s Word: I am one of God’s chosen ones in Christ, I am holy and blameless in Him—that makes me special!
C. Ephesians 1:5 “In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ. . .” Declaration of faith: I am a child of the living God! He chose me and adopted me into His family, not because of how I look or how talented or gifted I am, but because He loves me unconditionally in Christ.
D. Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of His grace.” Declaration of faith: God loves me so much that He shed the blood of His only-begotten Son so that I could be forgiven and be with Him forever!
E. Revelation 1:5 “. . . to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His own blood.”
Declaration of Faith: Jesus loves me; He shed His blood for me! That is where I find my value!
I declare, based on God’s Word that is forever settled in the heavens; the Word that is sharper than a two-edged sword, that penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; and judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart; the word that is the truth and cannot lie. . .
Because Father-God loves me unconditionally and perfectly, (He has set His will to love me forever) I am free to try and fail without any fear of condemnation. My relationship with my heavenly Father is not and never will be based on my performance, but instead is based on His grace and mercy to me in Jesus Christ.
The only opinion that truly matters to me is my heavenly Father’s. If I fail, His love for me doesn’t change. His love, grace, and mercy give me the confidence that I need to keep trying and to never quit or give up. Therefore, I will not be afraid to try and fail, for my self-worth is grounded in the truth of the Father’s love for me in Christ. Because I am in Christ forever, I cannot fail no matter what!
Allow me here to make a common sense statement that I think will also help you in facing and defeating the giant of all or nothing thinking. What if you do try something and fail? Is that the end of the world? Of course it’s not. Learn from your mistakes and try again. Don’t allow the fear of failure to keep you from trying. You want always get it perfect, but who does? Just give it your best shot and then rest in that. If someone can’t deal with it, that is NOT your problem.
Connie’s first attempts at cooking when we got married were, let’s just say, not exactly perfect! But I didn’t die, and she kept working at it and now she is a very good cook. Still not perfect, but very close!
Be willing to face your fear of not getting it perfect. You will find that when you do you will conquer it. And that will be one giant down! Remember, you’re not perfect. There was only One who was perfect and that is Jesus. But you are chosen, forgiven, and loved unconditionally in Him! Live in that truth and you will overcome your fear of failing.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of the deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who neither know victory or defeat.” President Theodore Roosevelt.
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