Uninvited Guests

“…we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

In our current house and our last one we’ve had lot of animals that either came through our back yard or came up near our fence. How do we know? They have their own personal announcer – our dog Willow. She lets us know every time a creature (or UPS driver, postman, etc.) has dared to step foot onto her land or come near.

We also have stray thoughts that travel through our mind but sometimes our “guard dog” doesn’t let us know because they are thoughts that have come so often they seem welcome even though they aren’t. Thoughts that come from our childhood, a bad relationship, a fight, a breakup, or other events in our life that have helped shape who we are today. That last part is one of the big lies of the enemy – “it’s who you are”, “it is what it is” – which are thoughts that are designed to make us feel helpless – that there is nothing we can do to change who we are.

While it’s true that we can’t change what’s happened to us, we can certainly change who we are because of those events. They don’t have to define us or shape us. We can take those stray thoughts that we know shouldn’t be taking up residence in the real estate of our mind, and reshape them, rather than having them reshape us. Paul is writing here about what to do with those thoughts – we are to “take them captive…”

It starts with the word of God, and allowing it to be planted into our minds. I’ve never heard of a self-planting garden, and it’s the same with new thoughts we want to establish. We have to actively and purposefully take steps to implant those new thoughts. The first step is to identify the thought(s) that need to be replaced. If you can, identify the root idea of that thought and search for verses that are God telling you the opposite, which is usually the trust He wants to speak over your life. Intentionally take time in the morning to identify the thought that needs to go and the verse that will be in it’s place and commit to meditating on that verse throughout the day. Don’t think about what happened yesterday or worry whether you’ll be able to do it tomorrow.

Today is all you need to concentrate on. If you don’t have a plan for daily bible reading, get one – there are several that are allow you to have daily reading and at the end of a year you’ll have read through the whole bible! Use those daily readings to coat your mind against thoughts that don’t belong.

Here is a verse that most of us can use:

“…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Have a different verse you’re going to use today to start this with? Post that verse in the comments so other can be encouraged.