2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-6 – For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
THEME OF THE DAY. IT’S ALL ABOUT OUR THINKING. I was sitting at my desk, coffee within reach, opened my Bible, and let out a little sigh that revealed much. I was fighting “the blues” – physically tired, a little emotionally worn thin, and spiritually weary. Maybe it was the weather. It does negatively influence some people, but it couldn’t be the cause for me. I mean when a person’s favorite season is winter, which is mine, a dark dreary rainy June morning didn’t create the “blues” in my spirit. My sigh must have been loud enough for my wife to hear in the living room because she walked into the den and said, “What’s the matter?” I simply shared, “Oh, nothing much. Just feeling a little down physically, emotionally and spiritually.” She said, “You know it is all in our thinking.” The only response I could give to this wise counsel was “Yeah, I know. It really is.” She continues, “We have to think right thoughts. Our minds must think truth.” I got a little hug as she retreated back to the living room for her morning time in the Word. But her counsel was not lost. When it comes to the spiritual life, and especially when those seasons of spiritual blues come over us, the duration of the season, even our joy in the Lord in all of life, will depend upon our thinking. As goes our thinking so goes our living.
The mind plays such a crucial role in walking with the Lord and especially in our obedience. Even the Lord Jesus recognizes the central place our mind and thinking hold if we are going to be Christians enjoying our walks with Him; an enjoyment that is in season and out of season, present when our spirits are up, and yes, present when the spiritual blues come. He told us in the Great Commandment that our obedience includes the mind – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). However, a couple of things must be understood and embraced if we are going to be successful in developing right thinking patterns in our lives.
First, take a look back up at today’s scripture. The language the Apostle Paul is using is military. It is warfare. Friends, we must wake-up everyday arming ourselves for “mind warfare.” If we are to “take every thought captive”, then know that not a day or even a moment in each day is free from “mind attacks” by the world, the devil, and our flesh. And their single objective is to get us not to think Biblically or Christ-like. Don’t start the day with this mentality, or the battle is already lost.
The second thing we must do if we are to win the battle for our mind is to establish daily, yes daily, times – unhurried times – in the only two ways we renew our minds – prayer and the Word of God. Neglect this and the mind is going to be shaped by the world. There are only two forces that direct our thinking – the world or the Word. Don’t sacrifice time in prayer and the Word. It should not only be our desire but it is for our survival.
Yes, it really is all about our thinking. Let’s commit to think right with dependence upon the Lord and His Word to guide us toward that end.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to renew my mind by daily finding myself in the means to renew my mind – prayer and Your Word.”
QUOTE: “How we think reveals what we believe and what we believe determines how we live.”