Imaginations

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We 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.

So much of my problem lately has been in my mind. I have been letting things overwhelm me to the point that I am ineffective. Case in point: I am in the middle of bible study this morning and the man says something to me that has a potential to tick me off. Instead of focusing on what he said and letting it get to me and ruin my time with the Lord (ps it was something small and insignificant...but isn't it funny how we will make a mountain out of a mole hill?) I took the thought captive and told the Lord that I was going to move past it and think about His word. At times I have let certain things build until I had a stinking mountain on my hand. I was thinking about a word picture this morning regarding thoughts that I think the Lord gave me years ago. It is the picture of a cowboy or cowgirl on a horse with a lasso. I don't know why this picture! But it is the idea that when a thought comes (especially one that will cause destruction if given time to take root) that I take my lasso and throw it out around the neck of the herd of crazy thoughts that I can come up with and I take that beast by the neck and bring it in under the authority of Christ Jesus and His word. I cannot emphasize the importance of Gods word enough and how you will live a defeated life if you don't make it a priority. Anyway, I have been overwhelmed about all of the things I need to get done so much so that I will have a faulty focus and get so focused on how incapable I am that I just sort of paralyze. Then my problem seems to get bigger. I just looked at the end of my bed and saw the mountain of clothes (literally) that I need to put away. Instead of focusing on how big the mountain I truly just need to get in there and do the thing...a little at a time. Instead of freezing and doing nothing. I think we are the same way with our personal strongholds. We believe the lie that we have been this way far too long, we have a mountainous stronghold on our hands and we accept defeat. We begin to see the size of our problem and we become overwhelmed and defeated and ultimately stuck. I am going to go on today and believe God. Even though I am tired I am going to chip away with His help at the mountains before me. We are going to do some climbing and it will take work but I have got to get to the top and have that mountain under my feet so I can see the view from above. I can't keep accepting defeat and living in fear. It is robbing me and it is robbing you. So, I will check back in and let you know how things are going. I am praying for more of His Spirit and more of the word to saturate me and I am going to go and do this thing with the Lord. I am SICK of me and SICK of wallowing in my self loathing and pity. AAHHHH!!! I have to be free if it kills me!! Problems, trials, the enemy, you may come and try to get me down but hear me YOU ARE NOT BIGGER THAN MY GOD. You want me to believe that lie...but a lie is what you are. I will not sit paralyzed with fear today. I have better things to do! I am going to take some courage from Him today and get on with it. I stand in the Shadow of the Almighty and He ain't afraid of nothing! SO I am going to go on...infused with His courage...knowing that in Him I am more than a conqueror.