“Casting down imaginations… and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”                                                                  2 Corinthians 10:5

 

It’s time to stop imagining!

 

Do our imaginations ever get the best of us?

 

When I was a child, the thought that there were alligators under my bed would plant itself in my head, and my imagination would run that thought until I would panic and call out to my parents. In fact, it wasn’t until many years after being married that I could finally sleep with my foot sticking out over the side of the mattress. My imagination had literally altered the very basic act of sleeping!

 

In John 8:44, Jesus calls the enemy “the father of lies.” He says there is no truth in him and “when he lies, he speaks his native language” (NIV). I don’t think there is any doubt the enemy uses deception to fight against us. If he can introduce a lie into our thoughts, he knows our imagination will often finish the work of deception, eventually leading us to believe something that just isn’t true. There ARE alligators under my bed, and they WILL bite off my toes!

 

For that reason, Paul reminds us that we’ve been equipped with the weapons needed for “casting down imaginations” and “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Our thoughts have a lot of power in our lives. Every action, decision, opinion, and so on and so forth, starts with a thought. It’s easy to see why our mind really is a battlefield.

 

Incorrect thoughts can be planted in our minds at any time. Maybe we overhear something, or we misinterpret something, or we get second-hand information, or… The next thing you know our imagination is wreaking havoc. It’s taking that thought somewhere that isn’t even close to a truthful conclusion, and the enemy is having a grand old time at our expense.

 

When the enemy tries to plant those false thoughts, whether they are about doctrine-what we believe the Bible teaches, or relationships-what we believe about other people, or us personally-what we believe about ourselves, let’s not water and fertilize those false thoughts with our imaginations. Let’s take them captive. Let’s allow God to reveal the truth to us!

 

Reminder: My thought life belongs to God!