Take your thoughts captive:

If you’ve been in the Christian world awhile, you’ve probably heard the term “take your thoughts captive”. This phrase comes from the verse in 2 Corinthians 10:5, that says “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (NIV).

You see, if we are not partnering with God in an area, we are by default, partnering with the enemy. Which means if we are believing a lie, about ourselves, others, a circumstance, or even God, we have partnered with the devil over that area of our life.

The verses around that statement say “We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ” (AMP).

The devil wants to confuse us and get us to believe a simple twist of the truth so that it will be almost impossible for us to partner with the truth. But the idea here in these verses is that we would keep an eye on our thoughts and beliefs, to make sure that each one is in align with God’s truth. This way we will not have to fear staying stuck in the arms of the enemy, because we have taken every thought to God, asked Him for the truth, and made effort to believe it.

Replace The Lie With Truth They Say

Many people teach on replacing the lie with truth. Though this is a great way to take your thoughts captive and renew your mind, there is a process of unpacking why you believed the lie in the first place.

If we only slap truth over an embedded lie, we will believe the truth for a few hours, or maybe a few days, but them the lie will swirl back in and overtake. This is why we need to be aware of each thought. We need to have the tools to unpack the lie and belief systems we’ve had and get the truth in to truly stick.

How do you do this?

How Do You Change The Thought?

A thought is always attached to a circumstance or fact. Then we attach a meaning, belief, or thought to the fact of what’s happening. From that thought comes an emotion, which creates a reaction we act out and a result. If you can address the thought or belief, which is usually a lie, that you’ve attached to the circumstance, then you can address and bring in the truth. This is how you change belief systems. It’s a way to exchange the lies you’ve believed through time, to God’s truth. Taking your thoughts captive truly is powerful.

It looks something like this,

Circumstance – The fact of what’s happening, anyone could say this is a fact.
Thought – A one sentence thought about your circumstance.
Feeling – A feeling you get because of the thought.
Action – The response to your feeling with any action, reaction, or non-action.
Results – The results of your actions or non-actions. The results always prove your thought.

Here is an example of an unintentional model:

The Lie Shows Up Here: The Unintentional Model

Circumstance: 20 things on the To Do list.
Thought: “I have so much to get done. I’m never going to catch up.”
Feeling: Overwhelmed.
Action: Procrastinate.
Results: Don’t get things done. (This proves that you have so much to do and you’ll never catch up.)

Here is an example of the intentional model:

The Truth Of The Circumstance Comes In Here: The Intentional Model

Circumstance: 20 things on the To Do List.
Thought: “I have 30 minutes. I have time to get two tasks done.”
Feeling: Motivation.
Action: Set timer and get two things done.
Results: Two things crossed off your To Do list. Getting things done.

The “intentional model” is meant to be a true thought that you actually can believe. Sometimes I ask God for what the truth about my circumstance is. Other times, I know what the truth is and I am able to be more intentional about applying it. Especially when I see the results of my unintentional thought model.

Writing out the truth on a mirror or sticky note and placing it somewhere you’ll see it often is a great way to keep the truth above the lie. I want you to see how your action and result changes based on what you are choosing to believe. Our thoughts really are powerful friend.

Try this out this exercise of taking your thoughts captive this week and see what comes up. I would love to hear what you find! Leave a comment below with something that surprised you!

Thanks For Reading Friend

What was your favorite resource? Have you read any of these books or listened to any of the podcasts? Leave a comment and tell me what intrigued you the most!

Also, If you’re looking for resources, I have a basic step-by-step guide here on how to unpack a trigger and connect with your heart.

If you are wanting to learn how to process pain and want to start a healing process for yourself, I am offering one-on-one coaching sessions. These sessions will help in learning how to process pain in a healthy way that actually brings lasting change and self-confidence.

I’m also creating a course that goes into the depths of all this as well. The course will take you step-by-step in how to walk through a healing journey. You will get live group coaching calls, a community of support, and one-on-one coaching with me. Also, subscribe to my email list to get updates for when the course is launched! If you have questions about anything, please reach out! I would love to chat with you via email.

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