This is one of my favorite verses because boy is it easy to let our thoughts spiral out of control.  It only takes a few discouraging words, a bad day at work, a failed exam, or even just jeans shopping for us to go from happy-happy to curled up in a blanket on the couch, binge watching tv and eating the entire box of thin mints.  For some it spirals down to depression and others it spirals up to a fit of rage.  Why do our emotions go from one extreme to the other so quickly?  Our thoughts! And our Heavenly Father knows how we allow our thoughts to rule us, abuse us and sometimes even destroy us.  But guess what?  Our thoughts can only overwhelm us if we allow it to happen.

 

Think about what prompts resentment, anger, bitterness, or jealousy.  Is it what someone said or what someone perceives is said?  Is it the images we are subject to throughout the day or the process of those images in our minds that prompts our behavior? When we allow our minds to journey down that spiral road, we are making ourselves submissive to our own thoughts. 

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Paul was constantly preaching against false teachers and ideologies in the early church; something we are still doing today and will do until Christ returns.  Knowledge is not the same as wisdom.  We can fill our minds with all kinds of knowledge but if any of it is contrary to will of God, it's counter productive. Wisdom is the discernment of which knowledge is helpful and how to put it into action correctly.  As Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth to warn them, he uses verbs that reference a battle; “demolish”, “captive”, “make_obedient” in his depiction of how we should handle thoughts that are contrary to the will of God. Here are some take-aways on this battlefield of the mind: 

 

1. We are not alone.  Christ does not leave us defenseless.  Quite the contrary, for the believer we have Christ within us.  Where Christ dwells, the devil cannot.  Oh, he can create havoc all around us, but Satan cannot dwell within the believer.  Christ, who defeated death, who reigns on high, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, is our defender.  He tells us, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13

 

2. We are equipped.  You’ve heard the term, “garbage in, garbage out”.  If you fill your head with worldly solutions, you’re going to get worldly results plain and simple!  But if you choose to fill your mind with God’s thoughts, He’s going to produce joy, peace and an abundance of fruit! He has given us the Bible which is full of His words and His promises.  It is a powerful tool!  Studying it and memorizing it, equips us with discernment and strength when we need it. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 1 Timothy 3:16-17

  

3. We are free.  When you ask Christ to become Lord in your life, you are submitting yourself to His Lordship instead of to your sin. Your submission to Him is your freedom from the burden of sin and with that, freedom from sinful thoughts which include those that are self-destructive. What we choose to submit to each day, each moment, is our decision.  And that my friends, is our daily walk; the constant struggle of more of me vs more of Jesus. "But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit." Romans 7:6  Take some courage in this, we are not the captive to sin, God calls us to be the captors. He does not tell us we can take captive every thought, He tells us to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. We aren’t just free, we are to be the offense against those thoughts.

 

4. We are transformed.  Do you ever notice that couples who have been together for a long time tend to finish each other’s sentences.  Sometimes all I have to say is one single word, and my husband will complete my thought.  It’s because over time we have learned how the other person thinks and responds.  In the same way, as we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we take on His desires, His will and His thoughts. There is a transformation that takes place in our hearts and our minds as we draw near to Him. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

 

You do not have to dwell in a pit of despair! Words and thoughts can be like poison or like vitamins depending on which you allow to take residence in your mind.

 

“ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Philippians 4:8