“. . . take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
Yesterday we were reminded that we have the God-given right to be free of such cruel emotional masters as guilt, fear, anger, anxiety, and depression. God has brought us out of the “land of slavery” (Exod. 13:3) and to the threshold of the Promised Land. But what did God’s people need to do if they were to possess and enjoy what God had given them? They had to fight for it! God did not simply wipe out their enemies for them. Why? Because He does not normally do what He has given us the power to do ourselves.
We too have a fight on our hands and God has not simply whisked away all temptations to the emotions that attack us. Instead, He has given us, “not . . . a spirit that makes us afraid” to face and fight our emotional enemies, “but a spirit of power and love and self-control” to defeat them (2 Timothy 1:7 NCV). Why then are we such spiritual wimps when it comes to resisting the control of thoughts and feelings that our real and rightful Master has commanded us not to be subject to?
The next time your emotional enemies come knocking on your door, you don’t have to let them in, no matter how loud and how long they knock. We would fight with all our might against an evil intruder entering our home, so why would we let evil emotions stay in our head? And do not simply refuse entry to such emotions, but replace them with praising God, praying for others, or positive truth (see Philippians 4:4-8). If you will fight for your God-given rights, your demons will learn that your door is no longer worth knocking on.