Some people call Automatic Negative Thoughts “ANTs” and offer analogies of ruined picnics. But call them what you will, we know automatic negative thoughts can destroy more than just a simple Sunday afternoon picnic!

So we have two questions for today.  Do you have too many automatic negative thoughts ruling your mind? Do you want to get rid of these so you can live in peace?

Let’s dive in by first asking, do you recognize the automatic negative thoughts, the ANT’s, when they sneak into your head, or do you see them only after they’ve already taken a bite out of you?  For example, one of my friends is a financial advisor. During a causal chat, we got on the topic of saving and investing. She started telling me what I could or should be doing with my money for the future. Now, my friend loves me and was probably just excited to offer something she knows a lot about. But those pesky Negative Thoughts automatically started whispering, “She doesn’t think I’m responsible. She thinks I’m going to fail. She’s judging me.  And then it got worse as I began to worry, “Am I a financial failure?”

Unfortunately, our negative thoughts can come quickly into play.  And sometimes they can spin us toward a dark and dreary hole. Consider these examples. . . How about when your boss asks you to step into his office? Are you in trouble? What about when you spouse says, “I want to talk with you.”  Or how about when you visit the doctor? Do you worry?  Let’s rephrase that – how much do you worry?   To what level does your mind assume the worse?

Unfortunately, this problem of negative thinking is as widespread and as old as sin itself. Even the Bible has a lot of little ANT thinkers. My favorite was when God called Moses to lead the people, but Moses answered, “No, Lord, don’t send me. I have never been a good speaker, and I haven’t become one since you began to speak to me. I am a poor speaker, slow and hesitant” (Ex 4:10 GNT).

Another “Automatic Negative Thoughts” classic was when the Israeli spies came back from scouting out the promised land to report: We can’t go in there – they’ll kill us. . . Those guys are like giants and “we felt as small as grasshoppers” (Num 13:33 GWT).  Maybe they should have said, “We felt as small as ants!”

Make sure the listener gets the connection with A.N.T.S – kind of humor in the middle section.

I’ll bet if we are honest, most of us have Automatic Negative Thoughts way too often. I recently heard that even in “positive people” negative mental chatter consumes 70% of their thinking. Wow! Just think of all of our recent worries including toilet paper shortages, social distancing, business closings, election issues, racial tensions and so on.  It seems our list of worries can change with the news. But how often do our Automatic Negative Thoughts and our worrying about the worst actually come true? Hardly ever.

Instead of suffering from automatic negative thoughts, what if we could hang onto the truth? Yes – the truth that God loves you. The truth that God is with you. The truth that Jesus loves you so much that he died for you. The truth that God is still God. The truth that God is large and still in charge.

When we deliberately focus on these truths, our thoughts turn into thankfulness and hope. It is almost impossible to have negative thoughts, when we are focused on the greatness of our glorious King. It’s hard to think small, like an ant, when your focus is on thinking big!

For today, what if, instead of listening to ANTs, we could listen to birds! The Bible says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Mt 6:36-37 NIV)