As I set out for my walk early this morning, this verse kept reverberating in my mind. I queued up my iPhone to one of my favorite Bible teachers. I hadn’t listened to him for awhile, but today this recording was also on my mind. And in the first 5 minutes …
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
Every action is preceded by a thought.
So what we think about is pretty important.
And if we have a promise from God, the enemy wants to keep us from thinking about that promise. Doesn’t matter if it’s a general promise or a specific promise for you personally. You and I are in engaged in a battle.
- Worry. You start to think about all that you haven’t done. And you have so many obstacles ahead of you that you believe it’s totally “impossible.”
- Doubt. Did God really promise you something that wonderful? Surely it was just your imagination running amok. You only wished it was God’s idea.
- Fear. You begin to notice that the opposite of your promise is happening … fast. Too fast for you to be able to do anything about it.
If you don’t want to end up
where your current thought is taking you,
have another thought!
As I continued my walk, I noticed where my thoughts went. And when they went contrary to where I want to go in Christ, I reached out and took that thought captive! [PLEASE NOTE: I had to do it way more often than once.]
Taking a thought captive means you replace it with another thought!
You choose to believe what The Lord has said instead!
- OVERCOME worry by agreeing with God’s Word. Be anxious for nothing. Pray about everything. He promises to give you His Peace. Your Father knows what you need. But He wants to go beyond your needs and bless you so that you can be a blessing to others. How cool is that?
New Thought: The Lord is blessing me so that I can bless others. (Philippians 4:6-7) - OVERCOME doubt by agreeing with God’s Word. What has He said? Memorize it and replay it often, out loud and in silence. New Thought: I will believe and trust in His Word. (Hebrews 11:6)
- OVERCOME fear by agreeing with God’s Word. Perfect Love casts out fear. So seek His Perfect Love and let it flood your heart. Then let your heart rule your mind, and you will develop the Mind of Christ. Fear cannot stand in such an atmosphere.
New Thought: The Lord is flooding my heart with His Perfect Love! (1 John 4:18)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What persistent thoughts would you like to change?
- How would your life be different if you did?