“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.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
Reflection: have you ever had a bad thought, and wondered “where did that come from”?
I was listening to an interview yesterday with Dr. Neil Anderson, discussing “Spiritual Oppression”, even among Christians. He tells a story of a mature, Christ following woman who came to him confessing “I don’t think I am a Christian”. After some back and forth, the woman goes on telling him some details about her thought life. She can be in church, and suddenly a blasphemous thought will enter her mind. After hearing this, Neil proceeded asking her “Do you want to have these thoughts”? “No,” she answered. “Did you try to have these thoughts?”, Neil asked then. Again, the woman responded “No”. Then, he asked her “So where do you think these thoughts come from?”. This was a new recognition, a new understanding for the woman of how we are being attacked by our enemy, what that actually looks like in a practical way.
Then Neil proceeded to talk with the woman, out of 2. Corinthians 10, where Paul writes the following “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NIV. This is all about spiritual warfare, and how we can be victorious by who we are in Christ. And notice something very important, very specific here that
our thoughts are at the battle front!
Or, said in another way, the front lines of the battle happens in our minds. I remember a conversation I had with a friend of mine during my teenage years, who struggled with peace. She told me of all the noise in her mind, that she could not get peace. While I felt tremendous inner peace, I didn’t have the tools to offer her so that she too could have peace. Paul here gives us the tools, the weapons of spiritual warfare. Because, those throughs that are not aligned with the will of Christ for us, we must “take captive”. We must reject and instead align our thoughts to be obedient to Christ, to the will of God.
This also means we need to be more alert and aware of what we allow into our minds, such as the movies we watch, what music and lyrics we listen to, the social media we browse, etc. Is it aligned with the will of God? If it is contrary to God, why then are we allowing it into our minds? We cannot afford to be ignorant, or to ignore this spiritual reality. There is way too much at stake. Relationships struggle, families break up based on what the enemy is whispering. People wander into spiritual darkness from the lure and deception by the enemy. Christians get consumed with the promises of the world, and the love of Jesus Christ grow cold. It is very real.
But Jesus has not left us without equipping us. We just have to use them, and not be deceived. In fact, we absolutely can have peace, even as we walk through the deepest and darkest valleys. David said “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalms 23:4-5 NIV
So let’s put on the armor of God, each day, and be “ready to punish every act of disobedience” against Christ. To reject the tricks, the thoughts of the enemy. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 NIV.