Taking Thoughts Captive: a word by Jessica O.

It has been my experience that humans tend to be hard on ourselves. We have an ideal version of ourselves and anything less than that is unacceptable. Is this truly biblical? As I have examined my self-talk, I have realized it is very harsh. The things I expect and say to myself are not things I would call acceptable to say to others. So, where does this come from, and what does Jesus say we need to do? I believe this negative self-talk stems from the fall, when we partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before having our eyes open to the stark difference between good and evil, we lived in a content state of just being. Being who we were created to be and being content in the love of the Father. Once we took the fruit, we embraced a false reality that we were separated from the Father, and we had to earn it back by being good enough. This is where the harshness towards ourselves and others began as we struggled to be enough.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to take every thought captive and bring it before God. Most of these thoughts are negative things we speak about ourselves or places of lack. We are called to take all of this and lay it down at the Father’s feet.

In the beginning, I felt ashamed bringing my baggage before Jesus. He once showed me a vision where I was before Him and felt I had nothing else to give Him. He kindly pointed behind me and said, “What about that?” I looked back and saw a beat-up old suitcase full of worn clothing. I immediately knew it was my pain. I just looked at him confused and said, “But you don’t want that. You deserve so much more than that.” He just laughed and said, “Your pain is very valuable to me.” As I brought that suitcase before His feet, I felt a burden lift off me in the physical and spiritual realm, and I was immediately filled with joy, peace, and love. 

When we bring under control our negative self-talk and exchange it for the positive truth, we are embracing who He says we are. He is ravished by us as the bride of Christ. He adores us as innocent children. When Jesus made the exchange on the cross, it was finished once and for all. It is done and that is the whole truth! To live under anything else is to live a lie of separation from His perfect love. Yes, there is a complex aspect to who we are as the finished work and the becoming process, but don’t let the process define you. You are who He says you are and nothing less.