By: Sara Wall
It’s our choice. We decide if we want to dwell on negative thoughts, or choose to bring them to the obedience and control of Jesus.
Allowing our minds free-range is an obstacle in our Christian walk. It is no small feat to bring our thoughts captive, yet we are in for trouble if we refuse. One wrong thought leads to another, and before we realize it, our mind is a tangled mess, and we wonder how it happened.
The Lord desires us to bring our thoughts captive, and not allow everything in our minds. It is interesting that the Lord gives us a free choice when He created us. Our brain didn’t come with a built-in filter, but God gave us His Word that equips us to filter what we allow to come into our minds.
How do we align and filter our thoughts with the Bible? The Bible instructs us to “tear down strongholds” and “take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4,5). But it is difficult when we have made it a habit. Let us remember that “all things are possible with God” (Matthew 19:26), and that “we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us.” (Philippians 4:13). Now that’s positive!
So what if I dwell on these precious truths from the Word? How about I soak myself in the goodness of the Lord, and His unchanging love for me? Would the negative, dismal thoughts from Satan dissolve? Likely, the morose clouds of anxiety and depression would flee. It has to! Where Jesus Christ is, there is liberty. And liberty is freedom, and freedom is positive. But listen, dear sisters. It is found in Him alone. The sweet, sweet Name of Jesus!
Of course, these long-standing thought patterns are not easy to break; it may take a long time. But we must not, cannot quit. We need determination; a will to keep at it. Only then will new, life-giving thoughts be formed. No, it will not be an overnight process. In time, as we continue to persevere in prayer and choose to replace our wrong thoughts with God’s truth, we will find ourselves renewed more and more in our minds.
It is a choice; a choice we must make daily. In heaven it will be worth it all. What is your choice?