Devotional for Friday, July 15, 2016
“Leading Our Thoughts By the Power of God”
by Dona Hake
2 Corinthians 10:5 (AMP)
3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons.
4 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,
5 [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),
Each day as we set out to serve our Lord we must be mindful that He has equipped us to live this life in victory. Even though we live in the flesh He desires that we pick up and masterfully use the spiritual weapons only He can give that we may wage war the way He intends it to be. We cannot fight fire with fire nor can we fight fleshly things with our human understanding and our own ability. God has given us spiritual weapons with preciseness and they are powerful. These weapons guarantee to overthrow the destruction of the strongholds that purpose to hold us down from living victoriously.
I can only imagine how grieved the heart of God is as people believe so quickly the vain philosophies and wrong thinking that swirls around us. Yet if we do not keep our hearts anchored in the Word of God, we will ultimately be targets of living the doubleminded and unbelieving life. The lies of the devil will come to you and so many ways, and if God’s Word is not anchored in your soul, you will will pulled and led by it’s persuasiveness.
God desires that we lead every thought and take it captive if it is one that serves to destroy. This makes me think of my German Shepherd today. When I take her in her backyard, it is fenced in, and she has free roam of the yard so she can do as she pleases. I would like to say she stays out of trouble but I remember the evening she encountered a furry black and white animal that desired to give her a new smell. She knew she had gotten into a tangle with the wrong thing that evening. That little skunk changed our lives and the inside air of our home for a few days! When I take her in her front yard, there is no fence so she must be on a leash, and I must lead her and command her as to what she is permitted to do. There is a road and if she were not on the leash, she could get hit by a car. There are so many bunnies and God only knows where she would end up if she was left to chase them.
There will be times in which you need to leash up and guide your thoughts as to where they are to be. If they are good and holy we are free to meditate upon them. If they are setting you up to question God’s Word and lead you astray then you need to take hold of them, get them on a spiritual leash and lead them where they need to be. It is as we make this a practice in our walk with the Lord that we will live victoriously. We will have a mind that is saturated with power and we will enjoy the beauty of a sound mind.