Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you seen those proverbial mic drop moments where somebody says something and the crowd goes, Oh, mic drop? Well, our Verse of the Day starts off that way because it actually uses the words "We destroy arguments." Just imagine, Oh, mic drop. Yeah, we destroy arguments. Well, there's a lot more to the context of this verse.
Let's look at the Verse of the Day in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 5. It says "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."
The Context: Spiritual Warfare
The context of this verse is so important because the verses leading up to it say, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds." What a powerful context for this verse.
The stronghold its talking about is obviously not a fortified city of the days of old, but it is a similar concept to that. It's the strongholds that can be established in our minds, in our behavior, and our way of life. It's really understanding that we do not wage war as physical warfare. Ephesians chapter 6 also echoes that our warfare is a spiritual battle, and it is about the strongholds that we go up against, that we can somehow allow our sin or behavior to now develop into a stronghold in our life.
Is This Thought Obedient to Christ?
What this is talking about is actually captivating our thoughts and understanding what impact they have on our behavior and on our life. I've talked to so many people who struggle with anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts, and it's a very real struggle. If you're struggling with those difficulties, I am so sorry. It is a genuine challenge and a genuine struggle.
This verse, though, is one of the verses that I reference to encourage people and help them navigate some of those strongholds in their lives. Because if we get to the point where we actually follow this verse and say, "Take every thought captive and ensure the thought is obedient to Christ," we think of the thoughts that can start to consume us about depression, or suicidal thoughts, or anxiety of, I'm not enough, I can't handle this. It's too much. Am I going to be good enough? What are people thinking of me?
We start piling up these thoughts and it's important that we start practicing taking those thoughts captive and saying, Is this thought obedient to Christ?
A Practical Example
One thought as an illustration is, What is this person thinking of me? What's going on? Are they spreading bad things about me? I can take that thought captive and say, Okay, even if somebody is trying to do ill will against me, all throughout Scripture, God has my back. Do I trust Him with this? Can I take that thought captive and say, even if people are thinking badly of me, I need to live my life obedient to Christ? Am I okay with living my life for the audience of one?
Now I take that thought captive, and making that thought obedient to Christ is, What does Jesus think of me? If I'm living my life so that I'm honoring Jesus, guess what I can do with that thought? You know what? If somebody else thinks badly of me, I am living my life for Christ. I care what He thinks of me, and I know He loves me.
Capturing Thoughts as Seeds
I would encourage you—we can tend to let our feelings drive our thoughts, which drive our beliefs, which drive our actions. The important thing is when you capture these thoughts, capture them as they're seeds, as they're planted in the soil of your mind, and capture them before they start taking root.
If you're able to expel the seed and allow God's Word, allow God, allow Jesus, allow the Holy Spirit, allow godly people to plant seeds of Him, His Word, His truth, His love in your mind, let's see what God can do as it starts taking root to develop a stronghold of His love and grace and power in your life.
