Take Charge of your Mind

We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience. (2 Corinthians 10:5–6)

Our minds are a wonderful creation, an aspect of God’s creation that is amazing.

Each of us were given a part of our being that is so complex but at times can be like a car that threatens to drive itself, and not in a good way. We all have the same problem – thoughts that come into our mind that are not Godly thoughts, not thoughts that are healthy but arise from our sinful nature. Each of us are different, yet we all have the same problem – a mind that at times threatens to run out of control and ultimately distract us from living a fruitful Christian life.

The enemy wants us to think that just the fact we have those thoughts make us failures. That we are enemies of God. That we are not truly saved. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul tells us the following in 2 Corinthians 10:5:

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Read that carefully.

Paul isn’t saying we never have thoughts that are against the nature of God, but to take them captive, like an enemy soldier who has invaded foreign territory.

Paul also tells us in 2 Corinthians 2 that we should “…not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”

Deny those unhealth thoughts a foothold in your life. It is when we give into and play with those thoughts in our mind that cause us to sin, not just them entering our minds.

Developing a correct response to those thoughts is our battle.

It is like a muscle that needs exercise to develop strength. Satan knows our weaknesses, and that is where he pounds his attacks. Trying to defeat those attacks on our own strength gives the enemy an upper hand. Set aside regular time to coat your mind with scripture so that you are filled with the substance of good Godly thoughts that will displace what the enemy seeks to do. If you need a good plan there are tons of them available. You’re likely reading this on your phone. Use the power of that technology to find a good bible app that has a reading plan built into it. You can read through the bible in a year with 15-20 minutes a day. Set aside that time for intentional use, and it’s like putting a fresh coat of paint on your mind every morning. If you use a devotional like Oswald Chambers (https://utmost.org/), at the bottom of each daily reading is a link to the reading for the day. YouVersion is a good bible app that has a built in reading plan. In this time of history there is really no excuse for not having the Word readily available. We have so much technology that we casually use for our entertainment rather than harnessing it for our discipleship.

Every day is a fresh battle.

The enemy comes to the battlefield prepared – are you?

Make a choice today to coat your mind with the Word of God before you enter into the fray.