Books for Introverts: Think Good

Welcome to this new series, Books for Introverts! At least once a month (maybe more!), I’ll share with you a book that will encourage authentic connection with God, yourself, and/or others. These book choices will encourage you in at least one of the following areas: resting in God’s love for you, learning more about your inner world, moving with quiet confidence as you live to please God, or showing up for those around you in healthy ways. Too see all Books for Introverts recommendations, click this link.

This is my second book recommendation in the Books for Introverts series! I have quoted this book many times in blog posts, and I will talk about it to anyone who will listen! After the Bible, this is easily the most life-changing book I’ve read.

This book is for anyone who feels stuck in thinking mode all the time. Think Good: How to Get Rid of Anxiety, Guilt, Despair, and the Like to Finally Find Peace of Mind will teach you how to think about what you’re thinking about, with the Bible as your guide. If you have negative thoughts that take you farther from the path that God has for you or you need encouragement to act on your good thoughts, then this book is for you!

In Think Good, JL Gerhardt encourages you to tend the garden of your mind so that the thoughts that grow from it are healthy and holy. If you’re having lots of thoughts, you want them to be good, holy thoughts that encourage and motivate, not thoughts that keep you paralyzed in fear, doubt, or sin. So how do we do that?

“A good thought life grows in the soil of a Christ-fixed heart, a heart devoted to feeding the Spirit through faithful discipline and starving the flesh through world-defying holiness. Thinking good is a long game. Day after day, week after week, year after year, you cultivate your heart, empowering God to empower you, to renew your mind” (p.98).

If you are thinking to yourself that your negative thoughts are too much to handle on your own, you are probably right. You need God, His Word, His Son, and His Spirit to help you transform your mind from a hamster wheel of what ifs into a springboard for your good works.*

*If you feel overwhelmed and find yourself unable to live your life, you should also seek professional medical help.

Who we are and what we do comes from our thoughts (Proverbs 23:7, Colossians 1:21). But, how do you know which thoughts are true and need keeping and which thoughts are worth throwing out? You have to put your thoughts out there in the open because keeping them hidden only allows them to grow and keep you isolated. Shining God’s light into your mind reveals what is there.

“Imagine your bad thoughts are mold growing behind bathroom tile. How do you stop the mold? You rip off the tile so you can see what you’re up against. You let the light get in and do its work. If you never remove the tile, never acknowledge the problem, it grows and grows and grows” (p. 17).

Gerhardt also prompts you to follow your good thoughts, to act on the good, holy ones, because to obey lovely thoughts that bear the fruit of the Spirit is to obey the Spirit. While reading Think Good, I was reminded of my love for writing. I put off writing because I questioned my motives for wanting to start a blog (again)—was I wanting attention, my name on a book cover, recognition? These questions stopped me for a long time from expressing what could be a desire put in me by God Himself. I followed my slothful flesh (as an Enneagram 9, that is my default) over the Spirit. In her chapter “A Heart Divided,” Gerhardt says this:

“The Spirit is in charge when, and only when, you obey it. Your master is revealed by your actions. Not your intentions…Following God is about following—not saying you’ll follow and then ignoring the directions. The longer you ignore the Spirit and follow the flesh, the more power you give the flesh. Fortunately, the more you ignore the flesh and listen to the Spirit, the more power you give the Spirit” (p.53-54).

I recommend this book for introverts because we tend to be more “in our heads” than extroverts. And I would offer this book to anyone who struggles with guilt, regret, shame, doubt, hesitation, pride, hamster wheel thinking, or daydreaming about the future.

You can find out more about this book and Gerhardt’s other books (which I also recommend!) on the author’s website.

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