Mind Your Mind

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

In the film, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Scarlet Witch is a deeply wounded character who sets her sights to avenge the ones she saw as responsible for her lifelong emotional scars. Her gift is mental manipulation. She turns her prey upon itself through their thoughts. She sees their fear, then has them see it too. “Everybody’s afraid of something,” she says. (Even she has her own fears) She surfaces the person’s fear into full mental immersion, so even the strongest of minds is captivated and consumed by the vision of their own soul’s “dark side.” Crippled by their own soul, the prey is controlled by the twisting of their own passions. Implosion and destruction. All by the captivity of thoughts.

Played out more intensely than regular rivers of thoughts, this has been my life for the last 48 hours. One person has set to demolish me with arguments and pretensions, due to her own wounds of ego, pride and God only knows what other issues. One person has set her sights to twist accomplishments into perceived failures, all for the sake of casting barbs to satisfy her own vengeful spirit. It’s not about me or others she looks to demolish; it’s about her. In the end, her own public rants cemented her loss of credibility, though she cast doubt through her drama. She garnered the attention that she desperately sought. And she will continue to do so at will, as long as she is imprisoned in her pain. I have always said that we can’t control what other people say, only how we respond. In all honestly, this person’s public and relentless attacks had gotten to me. My response was defensive. Not only because she looked to intricately bring dark into the light, but publicly attack other staff as well. Yes, she’s being prayed over. But until we see the unseen, we are stabbing in the dark. It’s always easier to fight an enemy we can see; so we can defeat and return to serenity. It’s always harder when we become our own enemy. So, let’s see: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

The response will always to stand for truth; and those on the side of truth will see the folly of ego. The response is to fight for personal freedom, not escape into more serene circumstances (the lion will only wait until defenses are down in the safety of the calm to pounce with a mind storm). Yet, in all of this, the key to surrender to the Spirit of Christ SO HE can take captive my thoughts with His own thoughts – which are more numerous than sands on the shores – Psalm 139:17-18 (let that blow your mind) – in exchange for my thoughts taking me captive. But I am active in choosing to surrender to the immersion of His captivity. Constantly. In reality, from birth to death, I am so distracted, I don’t even know I’m in thought immersion. I don’t have the ability to take my thoughts – of bliss and bondage alike - captive (they come more natural than breathing). And one would go insane trying to be conscious of every single thought and act accordingly (so take the pressure off and dispense the theological debates). We weren’t designed to control our every thought and behavior. We were designed to choose the Designer. Even the most perfect humans failed in their choice (see Scarlet Dragon and twisting of words to wage war), so it’s not about perfection. It’s about freedom and redemption. I will be captive to myself or captivated by Christ. One of the other at any given moment.

So, whose thoughts immerse me? In the darkest of nights, dreams overwhelm. By the light of day, distractions distance me. See the unseen to choose immersion over imprisonment. Let the thoughts flow from suppression to surrender; surface to freedom.