Claiming Victory in Jesus

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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 10:3-5)

The above passage of Scripture is one of my absolute favorites. It reminds me that though I live in this world, I don’t have to fight like them. In fact, if I fight with the same weapons the world uses I will fail in extraordinary fashion. But if I choose to take up the armor of God and fight in the strength of who the Lord is I will gain the victory.

The battles I face on a daily basis are spiritual battles. They can’t be won in my strength, they can only be won in the strength of the Lord.

The other thing this passage reminds me is that my mind is a battleground. The enemy is constanly trying to influence my thoughts and lead me astray. He loves nothing better than when I follow his lead, but that’s my choice. And likewise I have a choice to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. I find it only takes believing one small lie to change the course of my day. The frustration, anger, disappointment, and feelings of unworthiness come as I fall prey to the enemy’s little lies. But when I stand tall, when I take the time to capture EVERY thought, and align it with God’s Truth…then I experience a victorious day!

I can tell you I have gotten to the end of some days and thought how did I let that little tiny lie (small snowball) turn into a huge ball of destruction, destroying everything in it’s path. The problem was that I didn’t take the time to immediatley put it in it’s place. The Bible calls us to take every thought captive because even one single, small little lie can lead us in the opposite direction of what God has for us.

Today, I will expend the energy it takes to extinguish every lie from my enemy. I will embrace God’s Truth for my life. I will choose to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. In this I find the abundant life, in this I see my true value, the worth of my soul, and the hope for my destiny.

Lord, please help me to recognize my enemy’s voice today and when he comes may I immediately replace the lie with your Truth. Lord, please teach me what it means to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. I pray that I will live today more fully as I reflect on Your Truth and embrace it for my life!

On my way to a Victorious Mindset in Christ,