August 30, 2010
Entertaining Thoughts
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Devotion:
As I entered the room, my old familiar feelings of inadequacy and insecurity welled up within me. I prayed that the "measuring tape of self-worth" sticking out of the top of my head wasn't visible to anyone but me. "You're not pretty enough, thin enough or smart enough" echoed in my head, and I found myself entertaining thoughts of critical comparison.
Did you get that? I allowed my mind to "entertain" those harmful thoughts.
You'd think that at fifty-something I would have stopped "entertaining" these thoughts and moved on to recognizing and dismissing lies from the enemy. But I still find myself believing them at times.
What about you, do you entertain lies from your enemy, Satan? Do you entertain thoughts of comparison and insecurity?
If you do, I want to encourage you to memorize and apply 2 Corinthians 10:5, "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (NIV). In order to apply this verse, you and I need to recognize what is truth and what is lie. Once recognized, we should reject the lies and replace them with God's truth.
God tells us over and over again that He thinks we are beautiful; but not just on the outside. Look closely at the truths contained in Ephesians 1:3-6, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (NIV)
Friend, critical thoughts filled with comparison and insecurity are not from your heavenly Father who has chosen you and loved you. When Satan whispers his lies, let's quickly respond, "That is a lie and I reject that thought. I will only entertain thoughts of God's truth."
When we entertain a lie, we allow the enemy to plant it in our minds. Once planted, it is hard not to entertain the lies and even harder to discard them. Satan's lies take hold in our minds just like weeds in an unattended garden. We need to take seriously the task of guarding our minds against Satan's lies. When we guard our minds, it's as if we are holding up a shield of truth that repels lies.
I've heard it said, "Every spiritual battle is won or lost at the threshold of the mind." While I do believe we can triumph over the lie once we've allowed it to cross over the threshold, we can save ourselves a great deal of trouble and heartache, if we begin to recognize Satan's lies, reject them and then replace them with God's truth. As a believer in Christ we have the Holy Spirit to help us in this journey. Our job is to outsmart the father of lies by "out truthing" him.
Dear Lord, I confess that I entertain thoughts that I know are not true. I compare myself to others; entertain lies of rejection and worry. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I want to reject the lies of the enemy as soon as they enter my mind. Help me replace them and entertain Your truth instead. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Visit Zoe's blog
He is that Into to You (CD) by Lynn Cowell
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan
Birds in My Mustard Tree: How to Grow Your Faith by Susanne Scheppmann
Application Steps:
Write down the lies you believe about yourself. Write a corresponding truth verse from the Bible for each one.
Reflections:
What does God see when He looks past all the makeup, clothing and jewelry right into your soul?
Write down verses of truth in your journal and meditate on a different one each day.
Power Verses:
Colossians 3:1-4, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (NIV)
Isaiah 26:3, "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You." (NASB)
Ecclesiastes 8:1b, "Wisdom brightens a face and changes its hard appearance" (NIV)
© 2010 by Zoe Elmore. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
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Matthews, NC 28105