What you think, matters. The Apostle Paul, writing on the topic of spiritual warfare, told the believers in Corinth:
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 10:5).
And to the church in Rome, he wrote:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2).
I’m sure most of you are nodding your heads right now. If you’ve been a follower of Jesus for any length of time, you’ve heard all this before. But how do you actually do it? How do we take every thought captive? How are our minds renewed? For this week’s devotion I’m going to try to get very practical as I explain what works for me.
A number of years ago I read a short book, by a 17th century French monk named Brother Lawrence. The title of the book was, The Practice of the Presence of God. It describes how Brother Lawrence learned to keep up a constant awareness of God’s presence and an ongoing mental conversation with him in the midst of his daily activities. It’s really very simple, although I found that it took some time and practice before I could actually do it for more than a few minutes. That one simple practice, however, has proven to be a genuine game changer.
To start with the most noticeable change, remaining consciously aware that I am in God’s presence has made it much easier to resist temptations to sin. And much easier to repent when I do fall. And it’s a lot easier to recognize God’s voice when I’m paying attention and listening for it all day long, instead of just a few minutes set aside as prayer time. We’re told in Scripture to:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
That’s the first step to taking every thought captive. The second step is also very simple. God’s word tells us:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things (Philippians 4:8).
What stands out about this passage is that it’s a positive command, not a negative one. This isn’t telling us what we are to avoid, but what we are to seek. Too often we try to control our thoughts through what we don’t put into our brains; avoiding certain movies, websites, conversations, etc., only to find that it doesn’t work very well. The reason is that you can’t replace something, even a bad something, with nothing. But when, instead, I make it a habit to read, to watch and to talk about things that are good, I wind up not having time to go after the things that aren’t helpful. A double win.
This isn’t hard either, although, again, it takes some effort and practice if you’re not used to it. It’s as simple as this: work on something you want to get better at. Do you want to become a better cook? Or a better carpenter? A better artist? Would you like to have a deeper grasp of God’s word, or of science, or music, or history, or just read a good book that you’ve been putting off? It doesn’t have to be a “Christian” activity, although it certainly can be. Whatever it is, as long as it’s something good, go after it. Every moment that you’re focusing your attention on something good is a moment that you’re not filling your mind with thoughts and images that are bad. And you’ll discover, if you’re looking for it, that God is really good at using whatever skills you develop to advance his kingdom.
Get better at something good. Keep up a conscious, mental conversation with God. Do these two things for a year, and I guarantee you will see a difference in your thoughts. And in your walk with Christ.