Captives Don't Obey or Submit Easily!

I am reading a book by Derek Prince called War in Heaven and in the early chapters he is making the case that we are a people at war within the spiritual realm. Did you know that the Hebrew word for "hosts" which is "tsaba" has as its primary definition "that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host" or "a mass of persons (or figuratively, things), especially reg. organized for war (an army)". Thus, when the Bible calls Him the "LORD (or GOD) of hosts," which Derek says it does over a hundred times, it is saying He is the LORD or GOD of armies. As Derek said, when a country goes to war its citizens are automatically at war, the individuals do not need to make that individual decision. Thus, because our "government" and our "country" (God and Heaven) are at war, we, as its citizens, are also whether we like it or recognize it or not—and the Bible identifies our enemy as the "...rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12).

In making his case Derek uses a multitude of warfare scriptures, one being the following passage (2 Corinthians 10:3-6) which says: For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . . .

As I read that passage I was struck by something I had never really seen or thought of before, but which really adds an important piece to my June 30, 2009 post on "cages" or taking thoughts captive. In that post (and that two that followed it in early July) I talked about the essential need to take our thoughts captive, and the "cages" which I constrain my thoughts to. As I read the Corinthians passage above suddenly I saw the word "captive" in the verse "...and take every thought captive to obey Christ..." in a way I hadn't seen it before. I don't know if I can explain clearly the difference, but I'll try.

In the past I have seen the passage there to simply be that I take my thoughts and I make sure that they are consistent with God's Word or Promises, His character, and His testimony (see the June post). That still holds true, but I saw a dimension to the word "captive" that I hadn't seen before. I saw it as it truly is, an unwilling prisoner. I need to take my thoughts captive so that they obey Christ—but they aren't going to go easily or willingly. They are going to fight me the whole way and if I don't keep vigilant guard over them they will disobey or sabotage or even escape and wound me at the first chance they get.

When I was at West Point I spent one summer in a school where it trained us to evade behind enemy lines and, if captured, how to resist. It included being incarcerated in a mock Prisoner of War camp where an enemy tried to break you and you tried to resist. The next summer I went back to the same school—this time as an instructor . . . an interrogator to be specific (see my photo from then above). My job was to get as much information as I could from the prisoners. I can tell you that a prisoner will do all they can to resist, deceive, and if possible escape and wound you. As the "capturer" it requires constant vigilance and rest and warfare to keep them prisoner and obedient.

What this showed me, as it clicked for me last night, was that taking my thoughts captive to obey Christ is part of my warfare, and it suddenly made sense why it is so hard to take them captive and to keep them captive. I am in a war and there is a very real enemy trying to stir up my thoughts to rebellion and escape. I must TAKE them captive, MAKE them prisoners, and MAKE them obey Christ—and then, doing so, I must be vigilant to keep them there as they fight me, seek to resist and deceive me, and ultimately try to escape. It is, truly, a living, active, dynamic battle to keep my thoughts in captivity and obedience to Christ—making sure that all that I think and believe and expect is consistent with my Lord and His character and His heart and His Word. It is not a game. It is war. And the cost of dropping our guard in a war can be deadly. The lion paces about, looking for the one who has dropped their vigilance and given him a slight opportunity or advantage.

Three Cages . . .

Hello! It has been a crazy couple of weeks. With the help of some friends we have spent countless hours working to make part of our garage a "classroom" where we can homeschool Bethany. We really felt God telling us that we needed this outside the home place to go to for "school" time. We have been working long hours, and setting aside a lot of the other parts of daily life to finish it so we can move on and begin researching curriculum, requirements, etc. We are really excited by the way the room is looking, and blessed by the help, but on the other side of it we are really tired and a lot of the "small" things we let go are starting to seem "big" to us (tiredness seems to magnify stuff, doesn't it!).

I write the above paragraph as the context to the following thought, not for sympathy or anything else. As we grew tired, watched money go out quickly, and felt the weight of all the other things that make up normal life and ministry grow, we have started to feel more susceptible to attacks, feelings of being overwhelmed, thoughts that we shouldn't entertain about ourselves (because God doesn't entertain them about us), etc. Discouragement, depression, doubt, fear, etc. are all willing partners that love to latch on for the ride when we (as Christians in general) start to open the doors and allow them.

The Bible says to take thoughts captive. I have found that this is the most powerful tool I have to combat the runaway thoughts, fears, and feelings that want to take over my heart and my walk and to steal my joy and my expectancy of God's hand in my life. Like I told the church one time, Christians have, on one hand, these thoughts that come in to our mind. On the other hand, we have God and what He offers. But, until we take those thoughts captive to what God says or offers, the thoughts run rampant. It is like having a roaming lion, and an awesome cage. The cage does no good until we put the lion in it. Then, the lion is captive in the cage.

I have found that there are three "cages" which I try and take my thoughts to to take them captive. Sometimes all three work, sometimes just one, but usually, if not always, at least one will work if I choose to let it. These three cages are:

Cage 1: God's Word or Promises—what does God have to say for me in the form of a Bible story or a promise that has bearing on this situation or thought? Often it is simply the promise that He will never leave me or forsake me. Often it is the promise that He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in me. Other times it is often the promise that greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. Other times it is a different promise, or story, that I realize can be applied to what I am experiencing or feeling.

Cage 2: God's Character—is this thought, fear, etc. consistent with what I know about God's character? I especially look at Jesus' life and ministry and heart because He is the express image of the Father and represents the exact nature of the Father. So, I look to Him to see if what I am afraid of, etc., is consistent with who He has shown the Father to be.

Cage 3: Testimony—have I seen God act in the past in my life (or other's lives) in ways that would apply here? For example, in a fear of finances, I can look back and see that God has never let us down and take that fear captive to that testimony. Christian biography/autobiography is a wonderful place to build the testimony of God in your mind, as is keeping a record of the praises of God's hand in your life that you go back and periodically review. We have a "Praise Jar" where we record praises throughout the year and then open and read them on Thanksgiving.

So, for me, these are the three "cages" I most often use. But, here's the rub (as a Shakespeare character once said). Just like the lion cage does no good until the lion is put in it, these things do no good until we take our thoughts, fears, lack of expectancy, etc. to them and put them in them and take them captive to them. All the truth in the world does us no good until we choose to make it our highest truth. Otherwise we are captives, ourself, to a lie. But, as we all know all too well, taking thoughts captive is not always the easiest thing.

God bless all of you.