Life and peace? Yes, please!

All around us things clamor for our attention, making peace a seemingly elusive concept just out of our reach at times. Paul tells the Romans a mind set on the Spirit leads to life and peace. That sounds great, but how do we do that? How do we take our minds off of our flesh and set them on the Spirit?

Stick around this week and see what God’s word has to say about it …

No Nests Allowed

… and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

I was catching up with my friend on the phone one morning when she got a call from her father-in-law. Since he rarely calls her, she decided to take it. I hung up the phone and sat myself in the floor to help my little guy with a puzzle when the thought hit me right out of absolutely nowhere: he was calling with bad news. Clearly, that was the only “logical” reason for him to be calling. Why else would he call? In less than 10 seconds, I went from doing a Disney puzzle with my two year old to mentally trying to make childcare arrangements. Why did I need childcare arrangements? Because I might need to travel to be with my friend who may have just found out that she was a widow with three young kids. Y’all, my mind can actually do that in such a short period of time. I’m not proud of that.

Each of us have tens of thousands of thoughts that enter our minds each day, and since we’re among friends, we can be honest: some of them are less than pleasing to the Lord.

Maybe you don’t put yourself through imaginary emotional turmoil like I did, but our minds go places they just shouldn’t go. Maybe for you, you have created a safe haven in your mind for thoughts rooted in anger or lust? Maybe you harbor thoughts rooted in jealousy? Maybe you struggle with worry also? I’ve heard it said that you can’t keep a bird from flying over your head, but you can keep it from building a nest. Sister, we have to keep that bird from building a nest!

We may be slower to submit our thought life to God because our thoughts are private. For many of us, we don’t even recognize many of our thoughts as sinful because they have been with us for as long as we can remember. They feel natural to us. Comfortable even. I don’t even realize I’m worrying most of the time!

While our thoughts may be hidden from others, nothing is hidden from God. They lie naked and exposed before Him.

As followers of Christ, submitting our minds to Him is essential. Are you willing to invite Him to take control?

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 139:23-24, NLT

Taking thoughts captive,

Traci