Taking Your Thoughts CAPTIVE

I want to be genuine on this blog. I want you to know that I struggle daily, and I struggle with many things. I am in a battle daily, but I know you are as well. My hope is that you would read this and know that there is someone learning and growing with you. I fail daily but together we can strive to be more like Jesus Christ. I enjoy sharing what I am learning- what God is teaching me. Like I said, things that I am learning, not things I have always succeeded at or have down pat. 

With that being said:

Are you controlling your thoughts or are your thoughts controlling you?

"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."

1 Corinthians 10:5

We are told to take every thought captive and to make it obedient to Christ. Thoughts can most certainly control you. There is a reason we are told to make them obedient to Christ. They can lead to wrongful actions and/or words that we later regret. And if that is the case, they are simply dishonoring to the Lord. When thoughts enter our mind we have the choice to dwell on them or turn away from them. Jesus followers MUST capture every thought and yield it to Christ. 

Our thoughts should not pull us around like a dog on a leash. We have the authority, with Christ in us, to push our thoughts around. We have the authority to push out thoughts if they are not God honoring and pull in thoughts that go with Philippians 4:8.

"Finally, brothers, 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

Spend time with me reading through these verses. Ask God to give you the spirit of discernment to keep your thoughts focused on Him and His truths. When thoughts come into your mind that you know you shouldn't dwell on [negative thoughts about someone,  negative thoughts about yourself, lustful thoughts, the what-if thoughts that are untrue because they have never happened and may never even happen, even thoughts of delicious food that leads to overeating] PUSH THEM OUT. Sometimes I even have to start saying truths out loud: "She is a daughter of the King. I must view her as His child and a sister in Christ." "I am beautiful because I am made in the image of Christ." "The Lord has called me to think and do things that are pure and glorifying to Him." "God, 'My times are in Your hands.' You love me and You have me in the palm of Your hand." "My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I must take care of it by what I am putting into my body." 

Taking our thoughts captive and thinking of things that are "excellent and praiseworthy" allows us to be more like The Lord. We can control our thoughts with the power of the Holy Spirit within us. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us as believers. Wow. How cool. 

You Have An Assignment

"Sometimes God will send you a storm to reroute you back to your assignment. If He hadn't of sent the storm you would of ended up in the wrong place." Pastor Steven Furtick said this during one of his recent sermons in the How to be Brave series. You were created for a purpose. You were not made to aimlessly wonder through life without reason. If you are living, there is a purpose for you being here on Earth. God has a plan for your life.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

When we seek the Lord He will make our paths straight. We will be living in the purpose He created us for. We will be living for His glory. The Lord knows the plans He has for you. His plans are not to harm you but to give you a hope and a future. His purposes are for your good and His glory. However, sometimes we tend to take detours. These detours come about as a result of our own sin. As Pastor Steven said, sometimes God will send a storm to reroute you back to your assignment. Sometimes it takes "storms" in our lives to make us miserable enough to turn back to Christ.

It is in these times that we fall to our knees before the Lord and seek His face.

It is in these times that we return back to Him.

It is in these times that we are rerouted back to our assignment that the Lord has put before us. 

And if God had not sent the storm, we would of ended up in the wrong place and missing the purpose we were created for. If you have been on a detour that has left you weary and exhausted without Him, turn back to Christ. Allow Him to reroute you back to your assignment. Stay close to Him, friends. He is so good.

Thank you Lord for bringing us storms and rerouting us back to our assignments. Thank You for loving us enough to bring us back to You. There is beauty in the brokenness.