“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on
things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious – the best, not the worst;
the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what
you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes
everything work together, will work you into His most excellent harmonies” (Philippians
4:8-9, MSG).
It is impossible to live in freedom if we live in a state where we consistently allow toxic thoughts
and mindsets to monopolize our thinking. God has given us His Word to battle these thoughts
because we gain strength and confidence through His truth. This is not something in which we
can have a lackadaisical attitude. No, we need to be armed and prepared, with the Word, before
we are hit with the toxic thoughts.
Think about it, soldiers don’t go looking for their weapons after they hear bullets flying. They are
armed and prepared ahead of time; actually, they are always prepared.
I want to challenge you to put your mind to the test and intentionally choose to capture toxic
thoughts instead of entertaining them. Seize those negative emotions and replace them with the
truth of God’s Word. The enemy desires to hold you hostage by his lies, but God has given you
His Word to set you free and to empower you to walk in boldness and confidence that “greater is
He that lives in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
Have you ever noticed the more you practice doing something, the more it becomes second
nature to you? The same is true with fixing our thoughts on Christ and living our lives to please
and honor the audience of One. The more we make this our lifestyle, the need for having to test
and take our thoughts captive decreases.
It’s said that if you do something repetitively for 21 days, it will become a habit. I want to
challenge you to write down a toxic thought that continues to play over in your mind. Then find a
scripture that combats that thought and for the next 21 days continue to declare the truth of
God’s Word over that contaminated thought until the lie no longer overpowers you because you
have overcome the lie with TRUTH!
I am eternally grateful the Lord gives us every tool needed to overcome, and take hostage, toxic
thoughts in our lives. He is our Strong Tower and Confidence, and He loves us and has given us
His Word that trumps every lie of the enemy. He clears our minds and brings rest to our hearts.
He gives us the strength to stay armed and prepared ahead of the battle and determined to
keep His Word tucked deep in our hearts to combat every attack.
The Holy Spirit is assuring you right now that you are stronger than you think you are, and you
can do all things through Jesus Christ.
Dee Barker
