(Note from Linda: Diane shared this on the private site this morning after reading another member’s post, in which she shared how she discovered that a conclusion she had wrongly reached and allowed to send her into a very negative attitude wasn’t at all true and almost caused her to do something she really would have regretted. This is a very important lesson for everyone standing for marriage restoration, so I appreciate Diane’s permission to share her post here as well. Diane has a Restored Marriage and the Lord has certainly continued to bless her and her family, so we always appreciate her After Marriage Restoration insight and encouragement. And we will definitely be blessed and encouraged if we remember that we actually have to TAKE our thoughts captive and MAKE them obedient to Christ by replacing them with His Word to win the spiritual warfare now being waged against us, our marriages and our families!)

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After reading MNO’s (member name omitted) post, I kept thinking about taking our thoughts captive, and I felt a post coming and finally have the topic. God wants us to take our thoughts captive, but we also have to fill that space with God’s word (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). If we just take the thought captive without replacing it with something else, another one just comes to fill that empty spot and bring us down again. So we have to put one of God’s promises in that thought’s place and keep repeating it and getting it down in our hearts. I have written about this same thing before, but some things are worth repeating.

I’m learning that this is even more important WHEN OUR SPOUSE COMES HOME. They have seen and were drawn to our peace and comfort, so we need to be able to take our thoughts captive and always keep that peace because life goes on and things do come up.

And we need to make preparations for the good things God has in store for us. He has put dreams and desires in our hearts (Psalm 37:4), so we are standing on God’s promises and waiting and believing that they will come to pass. But there IS waiting involved; anything good is worth waiting for and no one really wants a half baked cake or marriage restoration.

Much of our life is spent waiting, and it is how we wait that matters. It is in the waiting that we learn. The Bible tells us to be patient as we wait (James 5:7). But we are to wait with expectancy; and that means to be hopeful and positive (Colossians 4:2). We need to get up each day expecting good things. This is the day the Lord has made, be glad and thankful and REJOICE in it (Psalm 118:24)! This could be the very day that God makes it all come to pass. Speak as though it has happened, and act as though it is going to happen…NO matter what you see, feel or hear (Romans 4:17).

Many times a day, we are confronted with negative thoughts and opportunities to make the choice to plant a good thought based on the promise of God’s Word instead (Isaiah 5510-11). And WHEN our spouses come home, we especially need to keep filling those spots with a promise from God. Many times when our spouse leaves to go somewhere, we are confronted with a negative thought that comes and tries to get us down. The phone will ring, or they might “look” unhappy and we immediately jump to the wrong conclusion; leaning to our own understanding instead of trusting and acknowledging the power and promises of God (Proverbs 3:5-6). So before our spouses come home, God gives us these tests to show us how we will react because He doesn’t bring them home until WE are ready. So take those negative thoughts captive and fill those empty spaces up with “I am more than a conqueror through Christ.”…”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”…”…”I am victorious because God causes me to be victorious!”

God will bring us through, but He makes us do the walking. We are learning the lessons now so that when our spouses ARE home, we will continue to be the spouses we were called to be. And the things we go through now all have a purpose…to get us to rely on God. So I pray that we will all work on taking those thoughts contrary to the promises and ways of God captive and filling their space with God’s promise. If God is for us, who could be against us? NO ONE! We can’t lose when Jesus is on our side (Romans 8:28-31)!

I hope this is an encouragement to someone today…this could BE THE DAY!!!

Posted Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 2:40 pm in Seeds Of Faith.