Last segment we discussed what it looks like to be different from this world and not conform or copy the ways of the world. One of the things we talked about was allowing the Spirit to lead in every part of our life. Let’s look a little deeper at what it means to allow the Spirit to lead in every part of our lives. This doesn’t just mean the outward part of our life, it means the inward most aspect of our beings, our thoughts.

As Christians we know our thoughts are vital to staying pure or righteous and avoiding sin. We are constantly hearing “take your thoughts captive” and to guard our minds and hearts. But what for? Why is it so important to guard our minds and take our thoughts captive? I’ll tell you why, mostly because a thought is the birthplace of sin, anxiety, depression, and loneliness. If we don’t dwell on those thoughts, they will go away.

We also know that all those things are so prevalent in society and what leads to a lack of identity. Everywhere around us we are plagued with an onslaught of depression, anxiety, loneliness, confusion, lack of identity, hate, and darkness. It has become the trendy thing to boast about your mental illness like anxiety. It’s become a mark of great honor to have to live with such an inconvenience. But are they really illnesses that just happen to you, or are they a lack of self control and lack of trust in God?

So what do I mean when I say our thoughts are an incubator of sin? First we allow the thoughts into our minds, then we dwell on them and allow them to simmer until we believe them and allow them to take hold in our mind. Eventually we allow them to shape our identity and change what we think of ourselves. We hear these things about ourselves and allow them to change our view on who we are.

But this was not God’s plan for us, he wants us to identify with His attributes and characteristics like the ones we referenced in an earlier lesson. Paul gave us a fabulous game plan in Philippians for how to handle our thoughts:

“’Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭

Okay, so that’s all fine and dandy, we can change our thoughts but what does that really look like? 

Ephesians 6 gives the analogy that we are in battle with the powers of the devil, and guarding our thoughts is just one piece to the armor of protection we need against the evil one. 

“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” Ephesians 6:10–18

Let’s break this down to bite size. 

We need to rely on God to help us fight our battles. The battle we fight is not against people, but against the powers of the unseen world. Satan’s first strategy is going to make us doubt God’s righteousness, power, love, authority, and goodness. God’s armor is simply the protection we use to protect against the schemes of the devil. 

The first thing we need to do is throw out any untrue lies about ourselves. We need to start fresh with the Truth as our identity and allow God’s righteousness to characterize us. We need to not allow the world or the Devil to define us. Stand your ground means be firm in your belief of your God given identity.

What are shoes for? To protect our feet, right? So the shoes of the gospel of peace are a protection of peace that comes through the gospel. The firm knowledge that Christ is our savior and the peace that comes from that assurance. The peace that transcends all understanding knowing that we have a God to whom we can rely on at all times and no matter the circumstance. So we can go throughout life confident of the peace of God to be with us always.

The devil loves to attack us so the shield of Faith has to be our firm belief in our Faith in God. We need to be secure in our relationship with Him so that when we come upon trials, we can be prepared. The image of the shield is pretty easy to understand, because when we do have thoughts of unworthiness or thoughts that try to shake our faith, we can put up a literal shield in our mind, whether it be scripture we’ve memorized, or blocking the thought and commanding it to leave. Either way we are forming a barrier between the thought and our mind.

A helmet does what? It protects your head during battle, right? Exactly! Salvation is what?

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

So how does this translate to a helmet of salvation? The helmet of salvation encases your mind in the knowledge of your salvation. That no matter what the devil and this world throws at you, you will still be saved. Satan can play his little game but he can’t get through the helmet that gives you the authority to put him in his place. 

The Sword of the Spirit is easy, the verse tells you it is the Word God. That means your defense against the attack is scripture. You must have scripture memorized in order to fight back against the devil’s wiles. The nice thing is that the bible has scripture for every single scenario and insecurity you may experience. You just have to memorize the scripture that relates to your specific insecurity or weakness.

So we’ve thrown out the bad thoughts, now the next step is to fill our mind with the good thoughts. “Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” What better way to fill our mind than with prayer? It says keep alert with all perseverance, that means we gotta stay on our guard because our fight is never over. Making supplication for the saints can simply mean, pray for other people too, everyone has a battle to fight and having someone else praying for you is very reassuring. Let’s read Philippians 4:6-8 again. 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

I love the empowering attitude of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5;

“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

Doesn’t that give you the confidence to fight any battle that comes your way? If you are feeling nervous or ashamed to take authority over your thoughts, then write that passage down and memorize it. 

God has given us the rules of combat:

•  Flee temptation (1 Corinthians 6:18)
•  Resist the devil (James 4:7)
•  Seek fellowship and accountability (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Proverbs 27:17)
•  Meeting together with other believers (Hebrews 10:24-25)
•  Pray at all times (Ephesians 6:18)
•  Seek wisdom from above (James 3:17-18)
•  Avoid places of temptation (Psalm 1)

Let’s read some other passages that relate to changing our thoughts;

‘The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. ‘ 1 Corinthians 10:12-13

‘We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. ‘ Colossians 1:11-14

‘Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. ‘ 1 Peter 5:8-9

‘Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. ‘ Romans 13:13-14

‘And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Romans 8:38-39

I want to hear from you in the comments. Reflect on these questions;

Do you struggle with keeping your thoughts under control? 

What are some ways you have found to be helpful in keeping your thoughts from running wild?

In what way have you seen your mind transformed since trusting in Christ?  

What strength does this offer you against Satan and his schemes?

In what way does the Gospel allow you to be stable in this shifting world?

What kind of worldly noise do you find yourself being distracted by these days? 

How do these things contribute to anxiety?

What would it look like on a daily basis to put on this full armor?