“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Paul speaks of a war that is not physical, but spiritual. From a personal standpoint, I believe we fight this war everyday in our minds. We have thousands of thoughts that go through our head everyday and with those thoughts we are either winning the war or losing the war. With every thought we are training ourselves to either become more like Christ or more like the world.
I like the attitude Paul demonstrates here about “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Through this statement, Paul demonstrates a complete submission to Christ by his thoughts. If you have this same attitude and your thoughts are to the obedience of Christ, what kind of thoughts would you be thinking? With the right thoughts, what do you think would happen to your actions? What kind of person would you be? What kind of person would you grow to become? Think of your thoughts as your internal influence. It is the friend that is either influencing you for good or for bad. Are your thoughts being a good friend to you? Are they the kind of friend you would want to influence your own children?
Obviously, none of us are perfect in our thoughts. This is something we improve upon over our lifetime by consistently working at it. How are you consistently working at this everyday to win the war of your mind?
Prayer:
My God, I am determined to live a life pleasing to You. To do this, I know I must guard my heart by guarding my mind. I will work diligently to fix my mind on things that are of obedience to Christ. In doing this, I know that my actions will be influenced by Your will as I consistently devote time in study of the scriptures and prayer so that I will understand more and more what thoughts are most productive. Forgive me for the thoughts that do not bring me close to You and provoke me to sin. Thank You for Your lovingkindness and patience with me. It is through Jesus that I know that I have Your forgiveness, and it is through Him that I pray, Amen.
Truth in love,
Heather
Truth in Love 