Our thoughts determine our actions and emotions. Thoughts play a huge role and are the reason, at times, we feel out of control. Our enemy is Satan. He tries to manipulate, distort, and deceive us in our thinking. It is his way to try and control us. If we let him convince us that what we think is real, we then make huge mistakes that lead to sin.
The mind is the playground of our enemy. We break free of wrongful thinking when we apply the Word of God in our lives. We can reject our thoughts. We can dismiss our thoughts, and we can bring down any imagination or thought. We need to understand that we do not fight by human reasoning. We don’t apply worldly weapons.
When you find yourself trapped in a cycle of wrong thoughts, stop right there. Thoughts bring forth actions. Reckless actions bring forth aborted destinies. It’s a high cost to pay. You must weigh every thought that will then lead you to make a move or take action. To every move or action, there will be a consequence. This is called the thought process.
Let’s break it down so that we understand how important this is. The cognitive processes involved are reasoning, problem-solving, remembering, and the last two that apply to my point strongly are imagining and making judgments. Please clearly understand, these are the two most deadly processing mistakes that we can make.
You see, it starts with the reasoning part. Our enemy, Satan, does not want us to reason properly. He distorts, lies, manipulates, and deceives us. It first starts in the thought process. Then comes the imagination. We actually believe those distortions of truth. We believe the lies. We have now become deceived.
Once this occurs, we then make judgments. Once the judgment is made, we then perform the action. When we judge wrong, we get into trouble. We then have aborted our destiny. This is exactly what Satan wants to accomplish, to derail and destroy our God-given destiny. It happens all the time. This is too much of a cost, the death of our purposes and plans that God has called us to fulfill and enjoy in our lives. These are the blessings that God has and wants to bestow on us. Satan does not want us blessed and enjoying life. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
How do we stop this from happening to us? God has a solution. Here it is. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Corinthians 10:4-5
We don’t fight against Satan with weapons that are man-made. This is called spiritual warfare. You apply that which will beat him and win us the victory. It is called the Word of God. We fight back by quoting scripture.
Here’s the weapon for the victory!
We fill our minds with this. “Here is a last piece of advice. If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on the things which are holy and right and pure and beautiful and good. Model your conduct on what you have learned from me, on what I have told you and shown you, and you will find the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9
This is how we take control of evil thoughts and imaginations. We replace them with thoughts that are holy and right. Then you will not run so quickly to make judgments that will ultimately destroy your destiny. God is clearly telling us in the verse above how to triumph over our thought process. It ends with a very interesting comment, “Model your conduct." What does that mean? Copy and mold yourself into everything you are taught in the Word of God.
Here’s the promise, “you will find the God of peace will be with you.” If you truly desire a life that is blessed, fulfilling, and successful, it is yours to have. Change your thought process by bringing every thought into captivity and change your mindset by replacing your thoughts by modeling the Word of God. Then, it will be God who will be speaking to you, leading you to pleasant places, and enjoying His presence that brings joy, peace, and love, along with his miraculous signs and wonders.
I choose every single second to think about that which is good, holy, and pure. I absolutely mold, shape, and model the Word of the Living God. I seek Him and the joy, peace, love, and guidance that He gives me freely and abundantly. I am grateful for all the blessings He bestows upon me and my family. I am blessed and so are my children. Trials and temptations will always be around, but He delivers us from all trouble.
Choose to think godly and not worldly.
Rev. Dr. Teresa Allissa Citro
Founder and President Thread of Hope