A recurring conversation with people standing for marriage restoration is about taking every thought captive and making them obedient to Christ, which means the word of God. As with everything we do, it’s a lot easier to know we’re supposed to do it than it is to figure out how to do it. Like everything else, the Bible has the answer for that as well because God doesn’t tell us to do anything without telling us how to do it. So one of the best answers to this question is found in Philippians 4:6-9, which says:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Everyone dealing with the issue of separation or divorce knows all about the loss of peace and contentment it causes, so getting control of our thoughts is one of the most important keys to overcoming that. Our thoughts are the basis for our emotions and our emotions dictate our actions, so we MUST get control of our thoughts. Look at what Jeremiah 17:10 says:
“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”Obviously God is searching and examining our hearts and thoughts, and judging us accordingly, because He knows they effect our conduct and deeds.

And we can’t ignore this verse in Luke 6:45:
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.Most of us know that whatever is in our minds usually ends up being on our tongues, so what we say does represent what we think and how we feel.

All of this is further confirmed in these verses in James 3:16-18:
16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.We need to understand that our thoughts are actually seeds we sow and our emotions and actions are the harvest they reap.

So taking our thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ is the only way we can have peace in all circumstances, which we know IS possible based on what Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3:16:
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

Based on my conversations and email communications with many of you, I know how difficult this is to put into practice, so I hope the above verses of scripture will help put it into better perspective and give you some practical tips and guidelines about how to DO it since it’s SO important. If we can’t get control of our thoughts, it’s not possible for us to act in the love, power and grace of the Lord that marriage restoration requires. So when negative thoughts of your spouse pop into your head, pray for him or her; use some of our prayers to get you started because they will actually change your thoughts and attitudes about your spouse and that will affect your conversation and interaction with them more than you might expect.

Posted Monday, March 6th, 2006 at 10:29 am in Seeds Of Faith.