“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
When’s the last time you were in an argument? When someone was doing or saying something that was not fair and you were giving them a piece of your mind? For me, it was just moments ago. The thing is, there was no one else there. It was all in my mind. I was imagining a conversation with someone else and found myself getting upset with that person because of the responses I imagined them giving. Am I the only who does that? Other times something actually did happen that was not fair or nice. But I can’t seem to let it go. I’ll choose to forgive the person and turn it over to God and before I know it, I’m ruminating on it again, getting upset all over. So I give it to God again. And again. And again.
At times like these, we need to take those thoughts captive. We need to force our thoughts to be obedient to Christ. Just saying that brings two major questions: how and why? The “why” question is easy because it’s in the first part of this verse. These kinds of thoughts are thoughts that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. Let me use my most recent mental “argument” as an example. I was imagining that another person is going to overcharge me for something I plan to buy. Let me say first that I have no idea what will be charged. This was all in my mind. So when I’m allowing myself to get all upset about this, am I trusting God to take care of this situation? Let’s say I am overcharged. So what? Where does my money come from and to Whom does it belong? God, of course. To think that I have to get all upset about this and protect my own possessions is saying that I don’t know God. I don’t know that He is the Provider of all good and perfect gifts, that He will provide for all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. In other words, it’s believing a lie. That doesn’t mean I can throw money around like crazy. He expects me to be a good steward of it. But it also means I don’t have to get all worked up about it, nor do I need to worry about the future.
Another situation is if you find it difficult to let go of past hurts. First, let me say that God understands that pain, the pain of betrayal or disappointment. But when we just can’t let it go, we end up swimming in that sea of pain instead of allowing God to heal those wounds. That’s why He doesn’t want us to stay stuck in these thoughts. He wants to move us to a healthier, happier place. When we believe the lie that vengeance belongs to us instead of the Lord, or the lie that we’ll never be happy again, or the lie that if we forgive that’s letting the one who hurt us get off without consequences, then we’re not trusting God to take care of the situation. Nor are we trusting Him to make us whole again. Only He can do that, and He will if we’ll only let Him.
When we understand “why,” then we need to figure out the “how.” And that’s the harder part. How do we keep our mind from wandering back to these thoughts? My first reaction is to say that I wish I knew! It’s so hard to do! I can force my mind to think of something else, but before I know it, I’m right back to thinking about it again. The two things I’ve found that seem to be the most successful for me are praise and scripture. When I begin praising God, either in prayer or song, it elevates my mind above the petty things of this earth and gives me a clearer view of what’s truly important. To take my mind to scripture, I work on memorizing God’s word. When the destructive thoughts worm their way back into my mind, I start repeating those scriptures I have already memorized. Whether I use praise or scripture, before I know it my mind is clearer, my heart is lighter, and I can once again believe the promises of God. That’s a thought to cling to!