I stared at the kitchen counter and sink stacked high with last night’s dirty dishes. Peeking into the dishwasher, I breathed a heavy sigh. It was full of dirty dishes, too! Quickly, I walked away to keep myself from becoming irritated by the mess, but there was no escaping my growing frustration. In the family room, the couch was piled with wrinkly but clean laundry that had to be sorted and put away. I gaped aghast, baffled by the sheer amount of clothing one family could cycle through in a week. Having just gotten home after a long day of work, I wasn’t up for cleaning. What I needed was a place to sit down and put my feet up for a few minutes. So I headed to the TV room, desperate for some respite from the waiting chores. Big mistake. There were empty popcorn bowls and soda cans left from family movie night, throw blankets strewn about the sectional, shoes littering the floor, along with a couple candy wrappers tucked between seat cushions. Why doesn’t anyone pick up after themselves?
The day-to-day load of work and family responsibilities weighed heavily on me. It seemed there was never enough time to be present and simply enjoy life. I could feel the stress and overwhelm starting to rise from the pit of my stomach to grip my chest. Hot with anger and resentment, I stormed to my bedroom to lie down. I hoped to shut out all that didn’t bring peace and spark joy when I closed my eyes, but it didn’t work. I started to cry. I can’t do this anymore!
Destructive thought patterns—such as I can’t do this anymore, a phrase I used to tell myself regularly—attack our self-worth. They are abusive and oppressive, and they will attempt to destroy our identity in Christ. The next step after getting to the root cause of your struggle with anxiety and fear, is taking a closer look at what current thought patterns keep you from breaking free from anxiety and fear. Fear is a liar! The truth is, you don’t have to let your thoughts take you captive!
To take captive means to take prisoner or to enslave. It’s easy to get swept away by our thoughts and emotions and become a prisoner of our own minds, but you are not a prisoner. You have the power to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)! But what does this scripture mean by take captive? How do we make our thoughts obedient to Christ? It means that we replace thoughts that don’t agree with the Word of God, who is Jesus Christ (John 1:1), or that contradict what He says to be true in Scripture.
I caught myself saying, “I can’t do this anymore” almost daily—in response to struggles at work, disagreements with my husband, an overwhelming to-do list, or the never-ending pile of dirty laundry and dishes. One day, I stopped and asked myself, is what I’m saying actually true? Can I not keep working, cleaning the house, and helping my family? Can I not work through disagreements with my husband? Can I not ease up on my to-do list and set more realistic goals for myself? And most importantly of all: What does God’s Word have to say about all this? I was starting to see how negatively this one simple phrase was impacting my outlook on life, my motivation for getting things done, and my commitment to my family.
After praying, reading my Bible, and learning the truth in Scripture, God revealed to me that the thought I can’t do this anymore was actually a lie I was telling myself. The truth, according to God’s Word, was that “I can do all things through him [Christ] who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). It suddenly hit me that this lie I was believing was holding me back! It had kept me feeling defeated, rather than seeing myself as a conqueror in Christ. So right then and there, I made a decision. Instead of allowing that thought to continue deceiving me into believing something untrue about myself or about what God could do in and through me, I would replace it with the truth found in God’s Word. Now whenever that old lie tries to creep back into my mind, I take it captive and make it obedient to Christ!
While this is just one example of how I started taking my thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ, I use it to illustrate a point: God cares a lot about your thought life. Negative thoughts can lead to making false assumptions about ourselves, others, and God. They lead to drawing false conclusions about our circumstances. In choosing to believe our own thoughts and assumptions, as well as the lies the enemy whispers in our ear, over the truth of God’s Word, what we’re really saying is we don’t believe God’s Word to be true. If I say, “I can’t,” and God’s Word says I can, then I’m acting as if God is a liar!
If according to Scripture, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him” (Matthew 12:35), we need to be sure that we are filling our minds with and meditating on truths that reflect God’s goodness and holiness. Whether we like it or not, good or bad, what’s inside us will spill out onto others. My prayer is that what comes out of us may serve to benefit those around us and glorify God.
We have a choice—to believe our own thoughts and feelings, or to believe God’s Word. Friend, this is where your faith will be put to the test. Do you really believe what you say you believe? Have you let Scripture penetrate deep down into the recesses of your heart and mind and become deeply rooted? Will you trust God with your life?
Proverbs 3:5–6 instructs us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” The Lord will not lead you astray. You can trust Him. However, you must learn to fully receive God’s Word as truth if you want to grow in faith.
If anxiety and fear have a grip on you, then somewhere along the way you’ve allowed fearful thoughts and feelings to take control of your mind, rather than God’s truth. The good news is you can regain control of your mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (ESV). If you sense that you are making decisions based on what a spirit of fear is whispering instead of what God’s Word has told you is true, please do not let this shame you in any way. Rather, let it shine a light on the dark places in your heart and mind yet to be surrendered to the Lord. Let it open your eyes to the schemes the enemy has devised to keep you from the freedom and fullness of life promised you in Jesus Christ.
We are not subject to our own thoughts because “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). With the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s Word (Ephesians 6:17)—and the power of the Holy Spirit within us—we can overcome every lie that the enemy would use to tear us apart. If possible, stop and pray right now, asking the Lord to show you at least one Bible verse this week that you can use to break free from a lie you’ve been believing. Once God shows you the verse, make it your go-to verse whenever that lie tries to creep back into your mind and you are tempted to believe it.
Consider framing Scripture and hanging it up in your home. You can keep a small notebook of Scripture in your pocket or purse. Make a point to memorize Scripture and declare it out loud whenever you feel overwhelmed by anxiety and fear. This is your best offense against the attacks of the devil. The Word of God is your sword-in-hand with which to pierce the enemy’s lies. It’s a source of light in a dark moment. Keep Scripture close at hand, maybe in your purse, back pocket, or cell phone. Use it as a weapon in your fight for freedom.
“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
