Taking Your Thoughts Captive
Photo by Andre Furtado
Like many children, our little granddaughter can see the spiritual realm, and sometimes she sees dark or scary things.
We are teaching her that she doesn’t have to put up with those things. Instead, she can tell them to go to Jesus—and they will go.
As adults, we need to learn how to do the same thing with our thoughts. We don’t have to “put up” with anything that doesn’t sound like Jesus. In a childlike way, we can say, “Thought, go to Jesus. You have to do what He says.”
And it does.
Where Is the Thought Coming From?
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:4–5 NASB)
Taking our thoughts captive is a crucial part of spiritual warfare, and the first step is learning to recognize the thought’s source. Is it coming from the enemy? Is it coming from us? Or is it coming from the Lord?
The enemy can be pretty crafty. He’s been around for a while, and sometimes we make assumptions and don’t realize what’s actually going on. A seemingly innocent thought floats into our mind, and it pushes us into fear, anxiety, or despair.
“Wow. Everything is going wrong in my life.”
“There is no hope anymore. Why even try?”
“I doubt God will do what He said He would do. He probably won’t.”
If we don’t catch thoughts from the enemy and stop them, we can find ourselves starting to spiral.
Are Bad or Dark Thoughts Always from the Enemy?
Sometimes the negative thought isn’t from the enemy, but it’s coming out of something we struggle with.
All of us have areas in our life where we need a tune-up. We deal with fear, doubt, different kinds of anxiety, different trigger points, etc. These thoughts need to be taken captive as well. They are not the truth of God and, if allowed, can also cause us to spiral.
When a thought sounds or feels just a little “off,” we can stop it in its tracks and tell it where to go. “Thought, go to Jesus.”
What Do Thoughts from God Sound Like?
LeRoy Eims with the Navigators had a remarkable way of describing the voice of Jesus and how to recognize it. Here is a paraphrase of his words:
“When the enemy comes, he speaks to us and it’s harsh. When Jesus comes, He speaks and it’s gentle. When the enemy speaks to us, it’s vague. If the Lord has something to say, it will be specific. When the enemy speaks to us, it just kills our hope. But when Jesus speaks, it’s hopeful.”
As we practice taking our thoughts captive, we learn how to think according to the One who is gentle, specific, and hopeful when He speaks. Our thoughts can reflect Him.
Other articles from Bill and Sue Frisbie:
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Do you feel like there's no hope for you because of your past? God did something much more beautiful than just “erase” your past. He actually changed it forever. Click here to learn more.