We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

2 Corinthians 10:5

Psychology shows that there are patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that empty people of joy and hope. This pattern is one of sin, hopelessness, and negativity. One must ask, how do we break this pattern? How do we fall into the pattern of life God desires for us—the one of joy and hope?

The answer to this question was one of the important things I noticed about Romans 12:2. This verse gives a clear answer for how we are to resist this pattern. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .”Behavior change begins with the mind. This is what Romans 12:2 says, and this is what the latest discoveries in psychology say. Yet how do we practically renew our mind, so we can live in the pattern of life God designed for us? That’s the subject of this week’s devotional reading.

To begin this week’s devotional, I’ll start with the answer 2 Cor. 10:4-5 presents on this matter. This is where we first see the language of “taking thoughts captive” for God. The pattern of this world will try to present new evidence, arguments, and claims to work against our knowledge of God and the hope we have in Him. If we take this evidence in, then the pattern of this world will only empty us of hope.

Instead, 2 Cor. 10:5 suggests we take every thought captive and make them obedient to Christ. This means, we must learn the ability to challenge our thoughts. Without the reflex of challenging our thoughts, we’ll just take our observations of the world as truth. We’ll get new evidence, arguments, and claims to work against our hope, and we’ll take it in, assuming that our observations are correct.

Scripture is clear: our thoughts need to be challenged if we want to make them obedient to Christ.

FIVE THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE AVOID

All of us have struggled at times with negative thoughts, either from learned patterns in our relationships or from distorted perspectives we’ve picked up along the way. You’ve probably noticed that you can’t really change your behavior without changing your thoughts. Scripture urges us to change our thinking to renew our minds (Romans 12:2). I recently read a list on LifeHack by Amy Morin on things mentally strong people avoid. It reminded me of renewing one’s mind to be all you can be for God. I want to share five of my favorite headings from her list but include my thoughts:

1) Avoid spending energy on things you can’t control. You won’t hear a mentally strong person complaining over lost luggage or traffic jams. Instead, they focus on what they can control in their lives. They recognize that sometimes, the only thing they can control is their attitude. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, think on these things.”

2) Avoid dwelling on the past. Mentally strong people don’t waste time dwelling on the past and wishing things could be different. They acknowledge their past and can say what they’ve learned from it. There is strength in acknowledging the past, especially in things learned from the past. . . but a mentally strong person avoids letting past mistakes define them.  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

3) Avoid giving up after failure. Mentally strong people don’t view failure as a reason to give up. Instead, they use failure as an opportunity to grow and improve. They are willing to keep trying until they get it right. Every failure is a chance for improvement. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

4) Avoid resenting other people’s success. Mentally strong people can appreciate and celebrate other people’s success in life. They don’t grow jealous or feel cheated when others surpass them. Instead, they recognize that success comes with hard work, and they are willing to work hard for their own chance at success.  It takes strength of character to genuinely feel joy and excitement for other people’s success. The heart of 1 Corinthians 13 says love rejoices with others.  Love doesn’t become jealous or resentful when others succeed.

5) Avoid worrying about pleasing others. Mentally strong people recognize that they don’t need to please everyone all the time. They’re not afraid to say no or speak up when necessary. They strive to be kind and fair, but can handle other people being upset if they didn’t make them happy.

Will you join me in becoming mentally strong by aligning your thought life with God’s truth so you can be who you were created to be in Christ?