Take Every Thought Captive
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5
Satan's perpetual aim is to infiltrate your thoughts with his thoughts and to promote his lie in the face of God's truth. If Satan can control your thoughts, he can control your behaviour. He can introduce his thoughts, tempting you to act independently of God, as if they were your own thoughts or even God's thoughts, as he did with David (1 Chronicles 21:1), Judas (John 13:2) and Ananias (Acts 5:3).
One of my students exemplified how deceptive Satan's thoughts can be. Jay came into my office one day and said, "Dr. Anderson, I'm in trouble. When I sit down to study, I get prickly sensations all over my body, my arms involuntarily raise, my vision gets blurry and I can't concentrate."
"Tell me about your walk with God," I probed.
"I have a very close walk with God. When I leave school at noon each day, I ask God where He wants me to go for lunch. If I hear a thought that says Burger King, I go to Burger King. Then I ask Him what He wants me to eat. If the thought comes to order a Whopper, I order a Whopper."
"What about your church attendance?" I continued.
"I go every Sunday wherever God tells me to go." For the last three Sundays "God" told him to go to a Mormon church.
Jay sincerely wanted to do what God wanted him to do. But he was passively paying attention to a deceiving spirit (1 Timothy 4:1) instead of "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). In so doing he had opened himself up to Satan's activity in his life, resulting in the sabotage of his theological studies.
We must assume our responsibility for choosing the truth. We can't always tell whether the thought comes from the TV set, our memory bank, our imagination or a deceiving spirit. Regardless of where a thought originates, examine it in the light of God's Word and choose the truth.
Lord, help me today as I assume my responsibility to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.