Take Captive the Captive Thoughts by Shannon Taylor
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.
2 Corinthians 10:5-6
I don’t think I’d ever fully understood the importance of taking my thoughts captive until our bible study through the gospel of John this year.
Here’s what happened.
In a deeper study on spiritual warfare, I found out why our enemy, Satan, is called “the accuser of the brethren”. He throws relentless thoughts, better known as lies, at us that don’t line up with the word of God.
We’ve been taught to take our thoughts captive. Why? Journey to John chapter 13 with me. At the Lord’s Supper, Judas is identified as the one who would betray Jesus. In verse 2, the devil had already put the thought into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. The thought had gone from Judas' mind to his heart. It got there because he didn’t take the thought captive by bringing it into the obedience of Christ. In other words, he came into agreement with this thought and it got to his heart.
We are commanded by the word to guard our hearts.
Judas had an opportunity to take the thought captive, to not go along with the thought that was presented to him, but he didn’t. Therefore, the thought took root in his heart and he came into an agreement with the thought by acting on what was planted by the enemy in his heart.
It’s not just a suggestion for us to take our thoughts captive, but a command because our gracious God knows what can happen if we don’t. If we don’t, that unrefuted thought becomes ammunition in the hands of an enemy whose sole mission is to steal from us, kill and destroy us.
Think of the thoughts that come your way daily. They're not always pretty, holy, or edifying. If those thoughts are not taken captive, they travel to our hearts and take root. From there, they become actions, strongholds, and lies that we believe. Once they take root, the actions, strongholds, and lies steal from us, kill and destroy parts of us that our Jesus died for us to have in abundance!
Prayer:
Father, may we be diligent about taking our thoughts captive and guarding our hearts. Help us to not give the enemy anything to use against us but that we might direct our hearts and minds to meditate on the truth of your words, in Jesus’ name!
Dig Deeper:
Take some time to study Matthew 12:34, John 13:2, 27, and Proverbs 4:23. Meditate on the journey of an unchecked thought.
Discussion Questions:
Can you think of a time when you didn’t take a thought captive? Did it affect you in any way? How did you deal with this?
Read Philippians 4:8. What are the things that we’re told to think about? How can meditating on these things change your thought life?
About Shannon Taylor
Founder & Author
Shannon Taylor is married to her hot hunk of a chocolate husband, Richard, and mom to 3 beautiful kiddos, Maya, Ava, and Caleb. Her passion outside of loving on family is serving and teaching women about the love of God. She's facilitated classes, retreats, co-developed a purity program, published her first book, and has spoken at many women’s and teen events. Her joy is in serving her sisters, guiding and mentoring them into a relationship with the lover of their souls, Jesus Christ, and to see them whole. To teach them to depend on Him for their every need; mental, spiritual, and physical.
