Every Thought Captive

Dentist Visits, Landscaping Fails, and Bad Weeks

Photo by Clément Falize on Unsplash

Ever feel like Satan just knows how to hit you when you're down? The thing is, sometimes I can practically see it's happening, but I don't always know how to take control of it. 

It makes me think of 2 Corinthians, where Paul says, "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." 

I wouldn't typically come out and say that I have opinions that are against the knowledge of God. I don't like to think that's true, but in reality, how often am I letting the world/culture around me color the way I view things? This could go in so many directions, but this week was a genuine struggle for me. One of the biggest challenges I faced was fighting the feelings in my head versus trusting the truth that comes from God. 

Insecure thoughts.
Questioning my worth and value.
Attacks on all that comes with being a mom. 

I think we've all been there in some way, shape, or form. 

We had some unexpected events this week, which included a fun little trip to the dentist to get our 4-year-old's teeth x-rayed. Will they fall out from being damaged? Apparently, only time will tell. Did she look like she had received a double dose of lip filler for a couple of days? Why yes, yes she did. 

(If we don't laugh, we cry… so there's that)

But in all honesty, I had ALL the feelings this week. It was the teeth injury, with some other things sprinkled on top, but let's just say I wasn't thinking I was too great at basically anything, along with some good old, "What the heck do you think you're even doing?" 

It was a fun time. 

As the feelings started to take over, a part of me knew it wasn't truth, but the other part of me couldn't help but believe it a little bit. I'm not sure about you, but once I let the lies gain even the slightest bit of ground, they seem to take over quickly, and it's that much harder to gain control again. 

That part in 2 Corinthians that says, "Take every thought captive".... Failed. Those thoughts were running WILD. 

It reminds me of the landscaping in front of our house. If I keep up on the weeds semi-regularly, it's incredibly simple to pull a few here and there before they take over. However, if I ignore them, or worse yet, I see them starting to become a problem and do nothing about it, they quickly spread, and before I know it, the landscaping is unrecognizable, and the weed-pulling process is going to take some serious work. If you would like proof, enjoy this embarrassing picture below. 

*** Questioning my sanity in sharing this with you guys. All children were fed & taken to their 3 billion activities though. So….yeah. Moving on***

The same is true of our thoughts, though. If I recognize the lies Satan would love me to believe about myself, and I pull that weed right away, it takes some work, but it's fairly minimal. If I don't do that, well, before I know it, my whole mind is weeds, and now I need to take some serious time to get it back to the way it should be. 

So, the question is, how do we keep the lies from taking root? 

One passage I was led to during this week was Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus says this – 

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

There are multiple ways we can counteract the lies, but these verses really impacted me.

As I struggled with my mind this week, I longed for rest, and Jesus says it plainly. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". 

So, that was step one… go to Jesus with all of it. Go to him with all the thoughts, all the things, all of the burdens.

Step two… Walk with and learn from Jesus. 

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." 

I like step two because it reminds me that coming to Jesus is good, but He also asks me to do something as well. Walk beside Him. Learn from Him. If I'm doing those things and do them consistently, His leading and the absolute truth of God's Word are going to have a much better chance of countering those weedy thoughts and keeping them from gaining control. 

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light". Will it take some work? Sure. But Jesus will shoulder the burden beside us. When we're yoked with Him, He is continually and gently guiding us in the right direction. 

If you got nothing else, I hope this brightened your day and made you feel a little better about yourself as you looked at how sad my landscaping got this summer. I would like you to know that I have weeded it, with the help of some child labor, just in time for winter, when it won't matter at all. 

But if this resonates with you at all and you, like me, struggle with taking your thoughts captive, I hope you know you're loved. I hope you continue to run towards Jesus and learn from Him. I hope you believe with all your being the truth of who God says you are. 

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Share with us – 

Share a favorite passage or a favorite verse in the comments that has helped you combat the lies Satan wants you to believe.  Let's give each other some ammo and some truth to take hold of when for when we’re feeling weak.

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