Taking Every Thought Captive

Read

“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 10:5 NIV

Think

Wouldn't it be amazing if we could just flip a switch and start thinking like Jesus? How amazing would that be! The reality is that we have to work at it. We have to learn to bring our thoughts under the obedience of Christ. Most of us manage so many things every day, like our homes, our work, our children, our schedules, and our responsibilities. But how many of us intentionally manage our thoughts? We need to become more aware of what is happening in our minds. We shouldn't simply accept every thought that comes into our heads. We need to stop and ask, “Does this thought agree with what God says?”

How passive have you been with your thoughts? How many thoughts have you allowed to stay in your mind even though they don't align with God's truth? I don't know about you, but many of my most critical thoughts are directed toward myself. I can be much harder on myself than I would ever be toward someone else.

When thoughts come like: I'm not good enough. I'm not going to be able to do this. I'll never get through this. I don't have to accept them as truth. I can take those thoughts captive and replace them with what God says. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made,” and “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The situation may be difficult, but with God's help, I can make it through.

This doesn't happen overnight. Changing the way we think takes time and practice. If we have spent years developing certain thought patterns, so we shouldn't become discouraged when changing them takes time.

Act

Let's make a commitment to become more intentional about our thoughts. Let's stop allowing every thought to have a place in our minds. Let's compare our thoughts with God's Word and choose His truth over the enemy’s lies. We may not be able to control every thought that enters our minds, but with God's help, we can choose which thoughts we keep. Let's learn to think more like Jesus.