4.7.19~ Every Thought Captive.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV) says, "Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) says, "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ..."
The original context of this verse was in Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth. He is defending his ministry, speaking of needing boldness and how to wage a war on sin and temptation of the flesh. It starts in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, saying, "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." (ESV)
Paul is speaking of taking every worldly and dishonoring thought captive, and making it Christ-like. I normally wouldn't include two different versions of a single verse, but I like the comparison between the wording of the NKJV and the ESV.
This is definitely one of my favorite verses right now, and one that I quite often repeat to myself. I have never been very good at memorizing scripture, but this is a verse that I almost immediately memorized.
There are so many different worldly battles that we face every single day. From the simplest temptations, to the big decisions, that can make or break our relationships, jobs, etc. For me my biggest daily battle is letting the enemy overwhelm me with things that truly do not matter. I often bottle so much up and get overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed typically ends in a rather rough and treacherous anxiety attack for me.
Sometimes, it's being worried about something as simple as a math test, but I let Satan get in my mind and tell me I am going to fail, and things build from there.
I got tired of being constantly nervous. I stopped living my life to its fullest and that was not okay. In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that you may have life and have it abundantly."
There is nothing abundant about living in the lies and chains of anxiety. Christ came to break those chains so that we may live in Him and rest in the truth and love that He gives. The Bible says that Christ's perfect love casts out all of our fears.
Part of taking every thought captive, is learning to be still. I'm not very good at being still before the Lord sometimes; I'm not exactly great at being still in general reality. I had to remind myself that being obedient to Christ is sometimes being still. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The words, "be still," weren't a suggestion, they were a command.
After having a conversation with a sweet friend about this exact verse recently, I came to realize that it doesn't matter what is going on, it is extremely vital that I stop talking, moving, and stressing, to just sit and be still before the Creator of the Universe.
Resting, truly resting and being still before the Lord, is not something our culture teaches us. It's all about "the grind," and "going, going, going." My friend reminded me that I have to make resting and trusting more a focus instead of a side note or a last resort. I have to learn to be diligent in listening, just as much, if not more, than I am praying.
This morning I caught myself finally learning; finally learning how to take my thoughts captive and trust God. I'm going away this weekend and I was extremely worried that I wouldn't be rooming with my two best friends. I was concerned about having an anxiety attack and them not being there, but I stopped in the middle of church, in a pit of worry, and told myself that I had to stop and just be.
I knew instantly that if I was constantly worried about that situation that it was going to hinder my heart from anything that God might want to do in me this weekend.
I promised myself this: "I am going to come out of an agreement with anxiety. Satan does not deserve that hold on my life and God can do amazing things in me this weekend, but only if I surrender and trust Him; meaning that I choose to not be a slave to fear."
love always,
Iz💛💛
2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV) says, "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ..."
The original context of this verse was in Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth. He is defending his ministry, speaking of needing boldness and how to wage a war on sin and temptation of the flesh. It starts in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, saying, "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." (ESV)
Paul is speaking of taking every worldly and dishonoring thought captive, and making it Christ-like. I normally wouldn't include two different versions of a single verse, but I like the comparison between the wording of the NKJV and the ESV.
This is definitely one of my favorite verses right now, and one that I quite often repeat to myself. I have never been very good at memorizing scripture, but this is a verse that I almost immediately memorized.
There are so many different worldly battles that we face every single day. From the simplest temptations, to the big decisions, that can make or break our relationships, jobs, etc. For me my biggest daily battle is letting the enemy overwhelm me with things that truly do not matter. I often bottle so much up and get overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed typically ends in a rather rough and treacherous anxiety attack for me.
Sometimes, it's being worried about something as simple as a math test, but I let Satan get in my mind and tell me I am going to fail, and things build from there.
I got tired of being constantly nervous. I stopped living my life to its fullest and that was not okay. In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that you may have life and have it abundantly."
There is nothing abundant about living in the lies and chains of anxiety. Christ came to break those chains so that we may live in Him and rest in the truth and love that He gives. The Bible says that Christ's perfect love casts out all of our fears.
Part of taking every thought captive, is learning to be still. I'm not very good at being still before the Lord sometimes; I'm not exactly great at being still in general reality. I had to remind myself that being obedient to Christ is sometimes being still. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." The words, "be still," weren't a suggestion, they were a command.
After having a conversation with a sweet friend about this exact verse recently, I came to realize that it doesn't matter what is going on, it is extremely vital that I stop talking, moving, and stressing, to just sit and be still before the Creator of the Universe.
Resting, truly resting and being still before the Lord, is not something our culture teaches us. It's all about "the grind," and "going, going, going." My friend reminded me that I have to make resting and trusting more a focus instead of a side note or a last resort. I have to learn to be diligent in listening, just as much, if not more, than I am praying.
This morning I caught myself finally learning; finally learning how to take my thoughts captive and trust God. I'm going away this weekend and I was extremely worried that I wouldn't be rooming with my two best friends. I was concerned about having an anxiety attack and them not being there, but I stopped in the middle of church, in a pit of worry, and told myself that I had to stop and just be.
I knew instantly that if I was constantly worried about that situation that it was going to hinder my heart from anything that God might want to do in me this weekend.
I promised myself this: "I am going to come out of an agreement with anxiety. Satan does not deserve that hold on my life and God can do amazing things in me this weekend, but only if I surrender and trust Him; meaning that I choose to not be a slave to fear."
love always,
Iz💛💛
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