Captivating Thoughts

 May 11, 2022

“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” —2 Corinthians 10:4-5 

“Bringing every thought captive to Christ” is not as easy as it might seem. When I received the phone call from Linda telling me about our son’s brain tumors, I had an entire afternoon and evening and all the next day to think, wonder, and brood. My mind tended towards the worst possible scenarios, over and over again. My thoughts were like a herd of springtime calves; one would break loose and run off. As I rounded it up, I became aware that another had escaped. And another. It was a constant mental and spiritual battle to bring those thoughts captive, over and over again. But I had to do it; if I let them go, they would take me places I didn’t want to be. If I didn’t take them captive, they would take me captive. 

Thankfully, as Paul says, the weapons God gives us to fight these battles are more than mere human willpower. He gives us his Word, the Holy Scriptures that give me his thoughts. Years ago, I memorized Joshua 1:8, and its truth helped me round up those wandering thoughts:

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

—Joshua 1:8 

I memorized it in the old Authorized Version, and quote it here as such. The word “meditate” here is the word used elsewhere for a cow chewing its cud to get every bit of nutrient out of its food. Long ago I learned the discipline of memorizing and meditation, which served me well when my thoughts wanted to run away with me. My mind isn’t as sharp as it once was, so memorizing is a bit more challenging these days, which makes me ever more grateful for those Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teachers who insisted we memorized Scripture. Like a cow, I can (pardon the analogy) regurgitate many of those same Scriptures, giving my mind something on which I can fix my thoughts, bringing them captive to Christ.

Taking my thoughts captive, deliberately dragging the wandering ones back into the corral of God’s Word gets me through stressful times. Taking them captive prevents them from taking me captive and imprisoning me in despair. God’s Word frees me for joy.