What a stronghold our minds are! Walls like iron mountains, keeping the children of God locked outside the land of victory, unable to walk in the rest that God has provided for every one of us. A man of courage and strength may be able to subdue his outer actions, but who can tame his mind? It is the Jericho standing in the way of every saint who longs to walk pleasing to God, and in order to proceed any further, the walls made of self-serving thoughts must come down.
The minute hope arises in the heart of a man tired of failing his God, tired of a heart that cannot truly love selflessly, bad thoughts bring him back to earth, robbing him of any chance of victory. And faith that perhaps there really is a way to walk with sin under our feet evaporates again, like a mirage offering hope in the desert, only to disappear in the heat of the mid-day sun.
And what are those hope-smashing, despair inducing walls that keep so many from walking in true victory? Our thoughts. Who can control them? Who can harness them? Like arrows shot from the dark side of our soul, they can appear from nowhere. Vile thoughts. Lustful thoughts. Covetous thoughts. Thoughts of condemnation. Thoughts of vengeance. Thoughts of doubt. Thoughts of blasphemy. Never ending thoughts that keep us chained still in Romans 7.
If our tongues are hard to control, how much more so our thought life! And because of this, how many there are who have given up the fight to walk in the rest that remains for the people of God? They may long to see sin defeated in their lives, but ultimately, no matter the promises of God, no matter the assurances scripture gives us, impure thoughts are too much to overcome, and unbelief washes back over them.
And yet..... and yet God tells us this:
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds,
casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
This presents a big problem for us. Why? Because God just told us that what seems impossible is doable. But how?? How does one control his thought life. Even in the middle of prayer, unspeakable thoughts can come like flaming arrows. Does that happen with you? Yeah, me too.
But you see, in that last statement is a key to our unlocking the answer we are His people desperately need. If the thoughts come like flaming arrows..... then their source is ...... not. us. Let thatcsink in for a moment. I will wait.
We have been talking here about who we are and who we no longer are. Paul tells us that when Christ died, we too died with Him. Our old nature, our fleshly nature that worked in tandem with our fleshly body, died. Yes, we still have our fleshly bodies, and the pulls of the world are still exerted upon us. BUT... oh, I pray you get this.... we are no longer flesh natured beings. We are new!
And as we have learned, even though this is a wonderful truth, it will not profit us, it will not benefit us, until we exercise the faith God has placed within us as a gift and receive it from the hand of Jesus.
But when we do, and I am convinced that many of you are so very close, ready to take the ultimate leap of faith into your saviors strong arms, putting off your old nature by reckoning it as done, and putting on your new nature that can and will say yes to Jesus every time.
To you, my friends, I want you to know this. Once you do so, regardless of how you feel, regardless of whether or not you think you are 'ready'.... ha! ......regardless of whether you think you believe strongly enough, something amazing transpires. You are given a new mind as well as a pure heart. Glory to God! Listen to the instructions Paul gives us....
"...that ye put off, concerning your former manner of living, the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and that ye put on that new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Do you see that? When you step out of the boat of unbelief from darkness to light, with it you also get a new mind! So does this mean the thoughts will stop? Not at all! As a matter of fact, for a while, they might increase. Take heart. dear one. God has this, and He has you.
This reminds me of dialogue in the movie 300 where the Spartans are told the sky will be darkened with the arrows of the enemy. And their unflinching reply? "Then we will fight in the shade." Gotta love it.
Guys, do you see now? Ever since your new birth, those evil thoughts have NEVER been your thoughts. They came directly from satan, and he is a master at lies and deceptions. He is wise enough to not come accusing you or tempting you like a little devil on your shoulder, with a puff of sulpherous smoke. No, he is far more devious than that!
He comes to you with an evil thought as if it originated in YOUR brain. He does not say "You are..." accusingly. No, no. He says "I am....." and he does it mimicking YOUR voice, hoping, like a master fisherman, that you will take the bait..... again.
But when the day arrives that light bulbs come on, and it will for every one of the elect in these final days, and the curtain is pulled back and the impotent wizard is exposed for what he is, just smoke and mirrors, his thoughts no longer find their mark. They are intercepted by shields of faith instead. Accusations go unheeded. Temptations go unfulfilled. Victory is maintained, fellowship unbroken.
And it is in this way that we as His children take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. It is our birthright. It is our destiny. The land lays before us, and God has told us, every step we take will be our possession, for He has already given us the land.
And God says..."So go take it." And take it we shall. It all starts with our shouts of faith, tearing down strongholds that previously seemed impenetrable, and shaking the walls of Jericho to their foundations. This is the bride awakening to who she is, and it will be GLORIOUS.
blessings to all,
Gids