I Can Change the Way I Think

In review of 2 Corinthians 10:5 it says, “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ”

Bottom Line:

We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ

What this means to me:

I am to capture and destroy every proud obstacle that keeps myself from knowing God. I am to make it give up and obey Christ.

Today's passage comes from 2 Corinthians chapter 10 where we see Paul Defending His Authority (seems others think he bold in writing but is timid in person). So Paul appeals to the church in Corinth with gentleness and the kindness of Christ. He tells them he chooses to use God's mighty weapons, not worldly ones, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments, the ones that keep people from knowing God. He ends this chapter saying that If we want to boast, we should boast only about the Lord. For when people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. It’s more important for our Lord to commend us.

This passage implies that we can change the way we think.  And when it comes to the temptations we face, I don’t need to fight them, I just need to refocus. Seems that whatever I resist persists.

In scripture I am not told to resist temptation, rather I’m told to resist the Devil. This is a whole different issue. The key to overcoming temptation is not to push back, but to change my focus.

From personal experience I know that whatever gets my attention will get me. The battle for sin always starts in the mind. I believe that’s why Psalm 119:6 says, “Thinking about your commands will keep me from doing some foolish thing” (CEV). Why? Because if I’m thinking about God’s truth, I’m not thinking about the less important stuff.

This is universal for all area’s of my life. If I focus on godly things, it’s going to pull me in that direction. If I focus on the stuff that’s in popular culture (at the movies and in magazines/TV), it’s going to pull me in that direction. Whatever I focus on gets my attention. Whatever gets my attention is going to get me.

The key is to just change my mind.

Temptation always follows a predictable pattern: attention, arousal, and action. My mind gets hooked, it mind kicks in, and then I act on it.

So I don’t fight a temptation; I just turn or redirect my mind to something else. I believe this is what Paul meant when he said “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NCV).

It takes a lot of practice to capture each thought and turn it to Christ. I won’t always be able to control my circumstances, and I can’t even always control the way I feel. However, I can control what I think about. There’s always a choice. And if I change the way I think, it will change the way I feel, and that will ultimately change the way I act.

I should consider what I spend my time thinking about? What does my mind wander to when I’m not focused on something specific? I should start to train myself to focus on God’s Word and truths instead of the things of this world.