A Train Worth Catching
“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
I have reached a conclusion after a visit to New York City with my daughter and some friends: there is no easy way to get around this place.
You can walk, which we did, for miles. My feet had the blisters to prove it. You can take a taxi, which we did once, prompted by said blisters. You can drive, which we did, but it included a myriad of tolls, an inadvertent run through the E-Z Pass Lane, and a hefty parking ticket outside our hotel for misreading a sign. Yeah, ouch.
Or, you can take the subway train. It became our primary mode of transportation, and prompted spirited conversation such as:
"What train are we supposed to be on? L? E? Q, R, S, T, U, V...???"
"Are we headed Uptown or Downtown?"
"Could it be any hotter underground?"
And most importantly: "Hurry up and get in before the train shuts its doors!"
I was terrified that one of our group would get left behind on that subway platform, miss the train, and lose their way. That got me thinking. Far too often, I allow my train of thought to leave me stranded while it heads off to destinations like "Fear," "What if?" and "Not good enough." Perhaps, like me, you could use some encouragement to "catch that train before you lose your mind.” The Bible has a lot to say about how and where we travel with our minds.
What we choose to meditate on, or think about, will determine our words, and ultimately, our behaviors. If you’ll pay close attention to the words that come out of your mouth, you’ll discover a lot about your thought life. Our words reveal areas we tend to struggle in such insecurity, fear, jealousy, or pride. They also disclose a deficiency in gratitude or mercy. However, we can't just change our words; we need to change the underlining root system behind them. Thoughts dictate behaviors and actions. Every destructive behavior can be traced back to a faulty thought pattern - a false belief. The enemy combats our minds with lies about God, ourselves, and others.
You may have walked through life with the belief that you have no control over your thought life. That simply is not true. The Holy Spirit can sanctify, or set apart, our thought life and make it holy and pleasing to the Lord. We aren't merely victims of an unmanageable thought life; we have choices about what occupies our minds. We can’t always control when a thought knocks on the door of our mind, but we don't have to give it a home. Paul understood the influence of our thought life, and wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 10:5: “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.”
What are we supposed to take captive? Our thoughts. What are we supposed to do with them? Make them obedient to Christ.
Doubt knocks. Don't give it a home.
Insecurity knocks. Don't give it a home.
Temptation knocks. Don't give it a home.
The thoughts we allow to take up residence in our mind will determine our beliefs, actions, and our destinies. Don’t let your train of thought run away from you and cause you to lose your way. Instead, make every thought obedient to Christ. No matter where you travel this week, whether by taxi, car, or train, keep in mind that God is with you - and for you - in your everyday struggles. That’s a train worth catching.
