Put Your Guard Up

By: Emily Goss

Have you ever stopped to think about what you are thinking? I don’t do this very much. But when I do, what I find is often alarming!

I was vacuuming one day and all of the sudden realized my thoughts had turned dark. Not dark in that I was thinking about monsters and zombies or anything blatantly ominous. They had turned dark very subtly. Almost like a sneak attack in my brain. 

I found that my thoughts were not positive. I didn’t intend for them to be this way; it was completely happening subconsciously.

“The house is never completely clean, no matter how much you vacuum. This place is a complete mess, and I am too. How long since I last showered? If I could just have more time without a toddler at my heels, then maybe I could get something accomplished around here.” 

On and on the thoughts drone like a broken record in my head. Why is it that I have to “try” to think about positive and uplifting things, while the negative and discouraging thoughts seem to be what my brain defaults to? 

My problem that day, and every day, is that I don’t take my thoughts captive, is that I didn’t have my guard up.  When I focus on what I’m thinking, it can be easy to take the thought captive and call it for what it is: a lie from Satan. 

But you see, I think the enemy loves to keep us busy. If he can keep us too busy and preoccupied to think about our thought-life, he can continue to infiltrate our minds and steal our joy without us even knowing it. 

One thing I tell my husband often is: “I don’t even have time to think!” With three children ages five and under, the house is far from quiet, and time to ponder life is a foreign concept to me. I have learned, however, that I cannot afford to let my guard down in this area. 

The Bible says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 

Every thought.

Even the tiniest, seemingly harmless thoughts. 

We need to make those obedient to Christ. But how do we do that? 

We can make our thoughts obedient to Christ by having our “guard up.” 

The Bible talks about putting on the full armor of God: The Belt (Truth), Breastplate (Righteousness), Footgear (Readiness to spread the Gospel), Shield (Faith) and the Helmet (Salvation). The commonality among all these pieces is that they are defensive in nature. This is how we defend those sneaky thoughts that come at us like fiery arrows. 

But, there’s one piece of the armor that is set apart. That piece is the sword, which is the Word of God. The Word of God is the one piece of armor that is offensive. It’s what God chose to give us to fight back! Every time you use a scripture in combat to those harmful thoughts, it is as if you are striking them with the sword of God. 

A thought tells you that you don’t measure up. You remind the enemy that you are a Child of God (Eph. 1:5), holy, blameless (Eph. 1:4), righteous (2 Cor. 5:21), and you are a work of art from your creator (Eph. 2:10). Every one of these is a strike against Satan. 

Now, you move from being the victim, who once couldn’t stand up under the weight of these thoughts; to the victor, causing the enemy to not be able to stand under the weight of the Word!

Friend, we already have the victory in Jesus. Let’s take action against the enemy and put our guard up in our thought life. Let’s stand ready with the sword of his word and take captive every thought in Jesus’ name. 

Word of the Day:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.  (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Prayer:
Jesus, I need to fix my eyes, heart, and mind on you. Allow me to see when my thoughts are turning dark, and enable me to put my guard up against the enemy. Your word is so powerful and it is my weapon of choice. Remind me to take the time to think about what I am thinking so I do not allow the enemy a stronghold. Thank you that I already have the victory in you. Amen.

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