[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
II Corinthians 10:5 (AMPC)
We are directed by the Word of God to take control of our thoughts. We are to learn God’s Word and then seize any thought we have that doesn’t agree with it. According to the apostle Paul, we lead our thoughts and purposes captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. We are to “cast down” wrong thoughts, theories, reasonings, and imaginations. The Bible teaches us to cast our care on God, cast out demons, and cast down wrong thoughts. This is a violent word that means to pitch or throw. It reminds me of the word seize, which is also an active, aggressive word.
Aggression is required in order to seize or take control of our thoughts. It is easy to sit idly by and meditate on whatever happens to fall into our minds, but it is not the will of God. He wants us to use our free will to choose to cast down any thoughts that are not in agreement with His will.
Some thoughts are good, positive, energizing, loving, and beneficial, but not all of them are. The mind is actually a battlefield on which we do warfare with the devil. We are instructed to pull down strongholds that exist in the mind. A stronghold is an area in which the enemy entrenches himself and hides, hoping to be undetected so he can bring destruction. Satan works relentlessly to inject evil, sinful, and poisonous thoughts into our minds. His hope is that he will go unnoticed and that we will passively accept the thoughts as ours and then meditate on them until they become a reality in our lives. But the good news is that we have weapons that we can use to defeat Satan.
For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds.
[Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
II Corinthians 10:4–5 (AMPC)
By studying verses 4 and 5 together, we can readily see that we are in a war; we have weapons that will destroy strongholds when used properly. Using these weapons, we are to cast down all wrong thoughts. Our weapon is the Word of God, and it can be used in a variety of ways. We can compare our thoughts to the Word and when those thoughts don’t agree, we make an adjustment and come into agreement with God. We can meditate on the Word, which helps to renew our minds and think good and beneficial things. We can also confess the Word out loud, and it helps us by interrupting any wrong thought pattern we are experiencing. We may also pray the Word! We can fill our prayers with Scriptures, putting God in remembrance of His promises as He has instructed us to do (see Isaiah 43:26). We may also hear the Word of God or read it, and it will keep our minds renewed to God’s plan for our lives.
The Word of God is referred to as “the Sword of the Spirit” in the Bible (see Ephesians 6). Swords are used in battle, and they should always be sharp and close at hand for use. I urge you to remember that God’s Word is a weapon for you to use against Satan.
A young man shared with us that his mother had died when he was fourteen years old and he became bitter and very angry with God. A few years later, he began to drink heavily as a way to dull his painful life, and he eventually became an alcoholic. One night, while on his way home from the bar, he hit a child with his car and she was killed. He was convicted of and imprisoned for manslaughter. While in prison, he returned from lunch one day and found that my book Battlefield of the Mind had been delivered to his cell by our prison ministry outreach. This is a book that teaches how important God’s Word is and the part it plays in renewing the mind and teaching us to think right. We have been given the mind of Christ. We do hold the thoughts, intents, and purposes of His heart! In other words, we can think as God does.
As he read the book, he said that he realized his thinking was wrong and he began trying to adjust it. After serving his sentence, he was released from prison and shortly after that he attended his first Joyce Meyer Ministries conference, where he surrendered his life to Jesus. He now volunteers at our conferences anytime we are close to where he lives.
As tragic as it was, it was not the death of his mother that destroyed his life, but it was the way he thought about it. The devil can and does put evil and life-destroying thoughts into our minds, and if we don’t know the truth (God’s Word), we have no option but to believe him. The devil was delighted to tell the boy that it was God’s fault his mother was dead and convince him to turn away from God in anger. He was even more delighted when he tempted the young man to be excessive with alcohol and eventually to take a life while he was drinking. He was very happy to see him in prison, but he was not happy when the book showed up and the man read it and found that he had another option to consider.
This young man learned that a battle was raging in his mind and that he could “cast down” or “seize” the wrong thoughts and replace them with good ones.
The Bible instructs us several times to be watchful or to watch and pray. One of the things we should watch carefully is our thinking. If it is not in agreement with God’s thoughts (His Word), then we should seize the wrong thought. We cannot seize the day unless we are willing to seize our thoughts regularly. A man becomes as he thinks (see Proverbs 23:7), or, as I frequently say, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.”
You can do your own thinking. You can choose your own thoughts and should do so carefully. You can choose to think about a thing or not to think about it. All thoughts are seeds that we sow, and they will bring a harvest in our life. All seed bears fruit after its own kind, so don’t sow what you don’t want a crop of.
If we sow a tomato seed, we expect to get a tomato, but if we sow thoughts of hatred and anger, we often expect to have a great and joyful life. That will never happen! Sowing thoughts of anger and hatred will produce a bitter, miserable life. The world is filled with people who have miserable lives, but they often merely blame their circumstances on others instead of searching their own heart to discover what the true roots of their problems are.
As one who lacked knowledge, I did this same thing for the first third of my life. I thought according to my circumstances instead of thinking according to God’s Word. The “thought seeds” I sowed continually produced more of what I hated. I was in a trap and could find no way out until I learned that if I wanted my life to improve, my thoughts had to improve first. Jesus invites us to believe—to believe His Word more than the word of any other—and when we do, things change for the better.
Renewing the mind and learning to think properly takes time and help from God, and He is always ready to help us do His will. God will help you—ask Him! The King James Bible uses the phrase, “gird up the loins of your mind” (see I Peter 1:13). The apostle Peter is telling us not to let our thoughts run wild, but to harness and control them.
If you want to make better use of your time, you will first need to make better use of your thoughts. Choose to be mentally assertive and proactive. Think about what you’re thinking about, and if it isn’t good or right, then think something else.
If you wake up in the morning and your first thoughts are, I regret that I didn’t stay focused yesterday and get more done. I just don’t seem to have any self-control, the moment you recognize that the thoughts are not in agreement with God’s Word, you can choose to think, I am going to let go of what is behind, and today is going to be a better day. God has given me the fruit of self-control, and I am learning how to use it.
If our thoughts do not agree with God’s Word, then they are either from the devil or the result of bad habits we have formed over years of not disciplining our mind. Either way, they are poisoning our lives, and we are the ones who must do something about it. God will always show us the right thing to do. He will even give us the grace (ability) to do it, but He won’t do it for us! He has given us a free will, and we must use it.
Once you are well educated in God’s Word (His thoughts), it functions like a light in your life that helps you quickly to recognize darkness. In other words, the Word of God that you have learned helps you recognize the lies of the devil.
Let me stress that this process takes time, and you will grow little by little. Don’t give up on learning how to think right, because your life can never be right if your thoughts are all wrong. You won’t reach a point where you never need to make an effort to think right! I have to make that effort daily, and so does every other person on the planet who truly wants to have the good life that God has made available through Jesus Christ.
Where do words come from? They are formulated in our thoughts, and they are powerful. God’s Word teaches that out of the heart the mouth speaks (see Matthew 12:34). Our words contain the power of life and death (see Proverbs 18:21). We get a result from the words we speak, and we are encouraged in Scripture not to speak idle ones. If we seize (control) our thoughts, we are on our way to being able to seize (control) our words.
Have you ever thought, I wish I hadn’t said that, after being rude or offending someone? I know I have. But wishing won’t change a thing. The way to not blurt out words that wound, offend, and cause trouble is to change our thinking. What we think in private, we often speak in public!
What we think in private, we often speak in public!
The psalmist David talked a lot about his thoughts and words. He meditated on God’s Word a great deal, and he said that the Word he had laid up in his heart kept him from sin. It was a light to him that gave him direction for his life (see Psalm 119:105). He also said that he had purposed (decided) that his mouth would not transgress (Psalm 17:3). This is one of my favorites:
I said, I will take heed and guard my ways, that I may sin not with my tongue; I will muzzle my mouth as with a bridle while the wicked are before me.
Psalm 39:1 (AMPC)
Notice that he guarded his ways and muzzled his mouth. Both of these words are action words; it sounds to me as if David was seizing the day! He made decisions about how he was going to live. He didn’t merely wait to see what would happen and just drift along with it.
We think all the time, so it’s important to be careful all the time. However, the more you practice right thinking, the more natural it becomes. You will grow to a place where thoughts that don’t agree with God’s Word will actually make you uncomfortable. You will feel uneasy in your spirit. That is the Holy Spirit gently showing you that something is wrong, and when you pay attention to Him, He will reveal to you what it is. This may occur without you even being acutely aware that God is guiding you, but it is something that He promises to do.
You can depend on God to make you aware of wrong thoughts and to help you think His thoughts. He never asks us to do anything unless He is willing to help us do it. He knows much better than we do just how incapable we are of doing anything right without Him.
After all the things we have been discussing in this book about how active and alert we need to be, you may be thinking, This sounds like a lot of work, and you may be wondering, When can I just relax? Although controlling our thoughts does require effort and diligence, I can promise you that my life was much more tense and stressful when I was filled with negative and evil thoughts than it is now that I am actively and aggressively seizing my thoughts so they will be in agreement with God’s will. Disciplining ourselves to stay in God’s will is not hard, oppressive, or stressful. It is fighting God’s will that gives us stress and frustration. Whatever diligence is required for us to remain in the will of God, it is easier than living out of His will.
We will make mistakes, and at times we may realize we have wasted an entire day thinking things that were ungodly, but God is very patient and will never give up on us. Jesus invites us to come to Him for rest and relaxation (see Matthew 11:28–29). We can stay in rest even when we make mistakes. We don’t expect our babies to grow up overnight, and we are willing to help them when they fall. Our heavenly Father is the same way with us. He is merciful and kind. Just knowing that we want His will is enough for Him to keep working with us for as long as it takes.
God is very patient and will never give up on us.
Power thoughts are thoughts that you can think on purpose that will actually release the energy you need to do a thing. Here are ten thoughts you can think on purpose that will help you seize the day:
1. God has given me this day. It is a gift and I will not waste it.
2. I can do all things through Christ because He is my Strength.
3. I am an organized person.
4. I trust God to guide me and help me as I walk through this day.
5. I choose to walk in God’s will for my life.
6. I don’t waste my time.
7. I plan wisely and I follow through.
8. I am an “on-purpose” person.
9. I will not waste the resources God has given me.
10. God loves me and He is with me all the time.
There are thousands upon thousands of other power thoughts. They are thoughts based on God’s Word, and they will release peace and joy in your life. Do some “on-purpose” thinking early each day and it will help you get the right mind-set for the day ahead.
• When we meditate on the Word of God, it helps renew our minds so we can think good and beneficial things.
• We cannot seize the day unless we are willing to seize and take captive any thought that is contrary to God’s Word.
• Renewing the mind and learning to think properly take time and help from God. He is always willing to help you—just ask Him.
• In order to make better use of your time, make better use of your thoughts.
• God will always show us the right thing to do. He will even give us the grace (ability) to do it, but He won’t do it for us.
• The more you practice right thinking, the more natural it becomes.