“We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

2 Corinthians 10:5

Hey y’all! It’s your girl Julie, and I’m back with another segment of “Salty & Lit.” Do you notice anything different? I’m trying something new, so I made a graphic to show what I’m doing. If you can’t see it, here is a description: a broken chain link over a brain, which is inside of a yellow light bulb. I’m not sure if you get it yet, but I’m taking thoughts captive and breaking those strongholds.

Let’s pray.

Father, thank You for the fact that we don’t have to stay in our thoughts. In fact, you teach us that we are able to take thoughts captive and subject them to the authority of Christ. Help us to stay vigilant by using Your Word to fight against those thoughts. Amen.

If I can admit, I’ve been breaking the chains that have been over my mind. I’m not saying that it was easy, but it was definitely showing how I needed to rely on God to change my mindset (Romans 12:2).

I began to discover that the thoughts that I had weren’t regular; in fact, they were lies that I allowed to become truths over time.

I’ll give you an example: As of late, I haven’t been fasting, but that doesn’t mean the effects of fasting hasn’t been coming to mind. My body was used to fasting for so long that even my thoughts were trying to convince me that I was still fasting. In fact, I was struggling to eat food because I thought if I ate something, it’d be disobedience. There were days in which I struggled with eating, but I began to find verses that would help me combat this eating.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

I’ll be honest: there were moments I lived in fear of eating, but God has not given me a spirit of fear, BUT He has given me a spirit of power, of love, and a sound mind. When I “fear” eating, I have to investigate the thought of why am I afraid to eat? Why can I not see food as a gift of God? What can I do to fight against this thought? Thankfully, 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that we can take these thoughts captive and teach them to obey Christ, so when those thoughts come saying I don’t deserve to eat, I can combat that saying food is a gift from God, and I enjoy the gifts God is giving me. I’m not using this verse as a license to ball out in our eating; there are consequences with whatever we put in our bodies, but what I’m saying is that this served as a tool to help me fight against the lies that I’m not supposed to eat.

It was difficult at first, because I had to pay attention to my thoughts. At first, it was very eye-opening because I wasn’t realizing how negative these thoughts were. I wanted to say these thoughts weren’t me, but they were starting to because I came into agreement with those thoughts; however, I didn’t have to any longer.

Deciding to take thoughts captive starts with first recognizing that there is a war in your mind. You have two options: You can choose to give up and let those negative thoughts win, or you can choose to fight back with the Word of God, which is a double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).

This week, I want you to pay attention to your thoughts. How will you take these thoughts captive this week? What are these thoughts saying? Are they aligning with God’s Word? Are they promoting condemnation or conviction?

Before I end, I wanted to show you all an image of a double-edged sword; it’s not that the are blades on both ends, rather it means that the blade is sharpened on both sides.

My friend, we have the authority to take thoughts captive, so let’s walk in that authority now. Let’s pray.

Father, thank You so much for Your grace. Thank You for the fact that even when we have thoughts, You are gracious to show us that we can take these thoughts captive. Show us what thoughts to take captive. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

With that, don’t forget you are loved, salty, and lit - bye! 🧡

Take Thoughts Captive

Relationships.