2 Cor 10:5 - “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.
Our thoughts can get away from us and it can be a chore to get control of them if they are headed down the wrong path. And, what we think matters. Our thoughts can take us from anger to rage, concern to fear/worry, hurt to bitterness, sadness to depression, attraction to lust, and cravings to sin. It is no wonder that the verse is worded so forcefully. We take captive every thought. We don’t just make polite suggestions; we handcuff them and make them obey Jesus. If not, we find ourselves in a very bad place. In addition, our minds affect our physical health, emotional health and spiritual health, so not one part of us escapes the effects of our thinking. BUT, the same is true when we have good thoughts.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Phil 4:8 “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.”
If we can keep our minds on things above, the fact that we are surrounded by warrior angels fighting for our good, and that God never ever lets us out of his reach we can see our earthly circumstances in light of the Truth rather than the illusions presented us on this earth. When we are discouraged if we will only start thinking of the goodness of God and all that we can thank him for, then we will be lifted up and be able to rejoice in the joy of our salvation.
Prayer: Lord, there are so many distractions in this world, good and bad, help me to keep my eyes on you and my thoughts surrendered to you. Help me to recognize what each wrong thought means about my heart and help me surrender that to you.