Captive

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every though to make it obedient to Christ."

If only we would actually begin to live out the promises that are found within this scripture. The knowledge of God is infinite and greater than all we could ever hope to understand. The knowledge of God contains grace, mercy, forgiveness, hope, faith, and love. Therefore, the arguments and pretensions that become set against those things are selfishness, doubt, fear, bitterness, anger, strife, and pride. When we find ourselves in the midst of a brawl against those negative and hurtful parts of life, we must remember that those things are set in direct opposition of the truth and hope of God.

We have the power, through Jesus Christ, to destroy, obliterate, and tear down anything that does not line up with the promises of God or the truths of God. We must begin to speak out against these arguments and pretension through journaling and actually vocalizing the words. There is nothing formed against us that shall prosper when we are in Christ. Thus, we must begin to remove the things that hinder us, weigh us down, and tell us that there is no hope to be had left.

The second portion of verse 5 talks to taking captive every thought. To take captive is to keep something within bounds, to remove its power or freedom. Our thought life has the power to restore us or destroy us, but the choice is up to us. When we listen to the lies of the enemy, the doubts of others, or the fears that plague us, we feed into our own destruction. Just as, when we mediate on the Word of God, listen to the promises spoken over our lives, or speak hope into our circumstances, we root ourselves in encouraging thoughts that fill us with life.  When we take every thought captive, we are choosing to be intentional in what words we allow to affect our lives, our dispositions, our circumstances, our present, and our future. To take every though captive, is to remove the power of the words themselves until we reconcile them to the word, way, and plan of God for our lives.

We cannot simply stop at taking each thought captive though, we must then make it obedient to Christ; this is the part that is most often forgotten. To make it obedient to Christ is to take the thought and ask if it is something that is intending to harm, destroy, root, or encourage. If the thought or words are to harm or destroy, then we must in turn tear apart those words and tear out the root cause or promoter of those words. If the thought or words proffer hope, faith, love, and life, then when we compare them to Christ, they align and we must then take in those words to be filled with grace, compassion, faith, and love.

So, today, as you go forward in each and every step that you take, I pray that you would know that the thoughts that are coming against you that are seeded in doubt, loneliness, despair, worthlessness, fear, or shame are not FOR you, they are to destroy you, and come from the mouth of the enemy. I pray that you would not entertain those thoughts, but instead, that you would speak out against them in the Power and Name of Jesus Christ.


Know today that you are prayed for, that you are cared for, and that you are loved - you will always be loved. 

Trusting

Trust seems to be a common issue in society today. Perhaps it is due to the fast pace with which we live our lives, moving from one place to the next without taking time to breathe, let alone enjoy the moment. In the world of social media where we are constantly surrounded with other people's highlight reels of their lives while at the same time being critically aware of our background story, it can be difficult to know who people really are. Then, if you through past difficulties, circumstances, or wounds, trust can seem like an impossible trait to possess and believe of others.

Trust it crucial to living life. We have to trust those that we do life with, whether family, friends, significant others, or new acquantainces. We have to trust even further beyond that to the plan and will of God. The trust we have in God goes beyond our circumstances, feelings, doubts, plans, and fears. God is unchanging and timeless. He has a hope for our future that is good, although it will not always be easy or fun, it will be good.

Trust is not just something we can say we possess. Rather, trust is a living and active thing that we must choose over and over again. We cannot live fully or openly without trusting. Yes, when we trust we open ourselves up to the chance of being wounded, but we also open ourselves to the opportunity to be encouraged, loved, and changed along this journey called life.

It is amazing to think of the simultaneous depth and lack of depth of trust we posess as humans. We fail to trust people because of our pasts or fear for our futures or the what if's of tomorrow. Yet, when we take a step forward, we trust that our feet will hold our weight. We trust that the ground will still be there to meet our feet. We trust that the earth's gravity is going to continue to hold us down. We trust in these great big ways, and yet we struggle to trust in the people around us and in the plans our Heavenly Father has for us because of who we once were or the things we once did.

Today, make the choice to trust. Trust God with your life, your plans, your yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. Trust the people around you, love them, and let them in. Just choose to trust; it may not always be easy, but it will always be better.