“The thief comes to rob, and kill and destroy…” John 10:10
Satan has one agenda in mind, and it is to wipe out all those who even so much as show the slightest interest in being a follower of Christ. He will use any means necessary to try to knock us off the path of righteousness. He is not trying to turn us into little devils, but he is trying to distract us enough to keep from fulfilling the call of God on our lives. This often times comes in the most subtle of ways. More often than not he starts his sly attacks in our minds with a judgmental or harsh thought, which can be directed toward others, or even toward ourselves. He doesn’t care how he draws us away from thinking about the things of the Lord and he doesn’t care who or what we are thinking about just so long as those thoughts do not line up with Christ. We can be our own worst enemy in satan’s ploy to draw us away from walking in righteousness by giving into his attacks on our thoughts.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
It is our responsibility to take captive the thoughts that do not line up with God’s word. More than likely God is not going to reach down and do brain surgery on us and remove every thought that is not of Him. He expects us to put in the effort it takes to keep our thoughts righteous. So what exactly does God’s word say we should be thinking about? What thoughts line up with God’s word?
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
When we are uncertain if a particular thought is of Christ or not, then we need to run the Philippians 4:8 test. Ask is this thought true? Is it noble? Is this thought right? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it admirable? Is it excellent or praiseworthy? If at anytime we find ourselves having to answer “no” to any of these questions, then we should change our thinking because it does not line up with Christ. The sooner we can redirect our thoughts the less likely they are to take root in our hearts. Once our “stinkin thinkin” takes root in our hearts it is only a matter of time till it comes out of our mouth. And just like when we squeeze too much toothpaste out of the tube, we can’t take back our words.
“...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 13:34
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23
It really is almost scary how something as small as a thought when left unattended to can grow into something that can be hurtful toward others. This is not something that happens overnight, but keep in mind satan is willing to play the waiting game in hopes that we let our guard down long enough that he can take root in our hearts. Speaking from personal experience it is a whole lot less painful to take captive a thought and make it obedient to Christ then it is to have to seek forgiveness for allowing the unattended thoughts take root and spew out of the mouth!
Lord, I pray that we learn what it means to be on guard duty with our thoughts. I pray that you help us to run the Philippians 4:8 test and identify when our thoughts are not of you. Help us not only to identify our unrighteous thoughts, but to line them up with your word as quickly as possible so satan has no leverage into our hearts. Lord, help us to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. We desire for our thoughts to be pleasing to you.
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