Taken Captive
2 Corinthians 10:5
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.
I once read about a lady who was training for the Olympics. She knew that negative thoughts depleted her strength, and positive ones fueled her heart’s desires. Just as some people decide to make a change in their life and refuse to eat sugar or refuse to use a credit card, she refused to say negative things. More importantly, if she caught herself thinking negatively she immediately refuted it, replacing it with 10 positive thoughts and at least one positive action. Further, if she found herself around people who doubted, who were negative, who attempted to evaporate her dream, she refused to be around them any longer. She was on a mission! Consequently, it worked! Her name was Jackie Joyner Curser. She would go on to break records and become a World Class Champion!
Essentially, to become a spiritual, emotional, and physical champion, we must do the same. I focus on the spiritual because I know that this life is not merely a physical experience. However, I also know that how we feel spiritually effects how we feel emotionally, and how we feel emotionally effects how we feel physically. You know that phrase, “What came first the chicken or the egg?” Well, what came first the thought or the action? We could debate this topic, but I say it’s a mute point. It’s all intricately connected. Warrior Moms don’t get caught up in traps debating about the actual hue of the color. Is it light purple, dark purple, magenta, or is it a cousin to blue? No, they simply get the paint and they color their world with it! They also splash a living, loving color into the lives of those with whom they come in contact. They are able to do this because they make their thoughts obedient to Christ. Christ then, gives them the strength to act upon His dreams for their lives. It equates to a dance of faith. Do you dance to the rhythm of the music or do you sit in the corner, letting the thoughts and attitudes of this world talk you into “sitting this one out?”
Today, I challenge you to focus on 2 Corinthians 10:5. I dare you to memorize it and repeat it every time a negative thought enters your mind. I challenge you to return a positive statement for every negative statement that someone says to you. I enlist you to set boundaries around the types of people with whom you associate. Do they fuel positive energy in your life or do they irritatingly nibble on your despair with their negative presence? Warrior Moms do not aimlessly walk around like lost puppies, hopeful that they will find their way home. No! Warrior Moms are more like a Police Dog, German Shepherds, who have been trained, who are equipped and prepared, and who know their mission, and they accomplish it. They don’t get distracted mid-mission and chase a car’s tires, or stop and play dead due to fear. A Warrior Mom has a military mind-set because she is enlisted in God’s Army and she knows that God’s got her back, no matter what!
When I was in the military, I noticed that there were a lot of tears shed by the girls during the first week and month of boot camp. As time went on, however, the tears were replaced with tenacity. The doubt was replaced with determination, and the fear was replaced with courage! Warrior Moms, take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ. If your mind is a mission field, ask yourself, who is in charge around here?! If you mind has been infiltrated by the enemy, fight back and regain control of your city upon a hill! It is your city, given to you by God. It is your mind! Picture a hundred enemy soldiers just running rampant around your mind (like ants on a hill, their black lines, taking control of the space on which they march). Fight back with the Word of God! As the Word of God enters your mind, as you use it to refute your enemy (the negative thoughts), you will sense something amazing happening. The enemy will flee because he has to! The enemy cannot withstand the power of God. So, quote it, write it on index cards, and repeat it in your mind all day long. If you do this, I know you will most assuredly say, “Game Over! I win because every thought is now obedient to Christ!”
Have a God-Strong Warrior Day, soldier.
Warrior Moms Unite!®
Love,
Kristina
The Warrior Mom Ministry was founded by Kristina Seymour, author of The Warrior Mom Handbook – Equipping Women through the Word, a Bible study for moms who desire to live by faith in the midst of their everyday lives. Kristina has learned that moms can't survive on caffeine and animal crackers alone; women in the Word and in community are united and able to stand firm. To learn more about The Warrior Mom Handbook, the Warrior Mom Ministry, and to sign up for daily encouragement, visit, www.warriormoms.net.