When your mind is in captivity The bible commands us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to ‘demolish every argument and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’ yet the enemy is using it to his advantage because we have neglected this commandment.

Captivity is a condition of being imprisoned or confined. The most painful form of captivity is the mind.

Captivity in the mind makes you powerless. The mind is the platform where spiritual activities take place so if you don’t have control over it, you are in trouble. We can see our brains but we cannot see the mind. Anything that has a name that we all know exists but cannot be seen physically, is a spirit.

When your mind is in captivity, you are like the serpent that is being held in the neck. If you are able to hold the head of the serpent, it becomes powerless. We see so many people moving about freely but they are in captivity. Their minds have been captured so they are not themselves.

God being all-knowing knows the importance of controlling the mind hence his commandment in 2 Corinthians 10:5. The bible further advises us in Romans 12: 2 ‘to renew our mind to create a better life for ourselves and a life that honors God. So the mind plays a very important role in our lives. We must take control of our minds; with our weapons being the word of God.

The word of God nourishes our minds. It frees the mind, it brings deliverance to the mind: it brings hope and strengthens us. If we don’t have some of these weapons with which we can demolish the arguments and the pretensions of the enemy, what would we do? We need to read the word of God because the enemy will use the word of God to outsmart us. Staying positive is good but we need something more powerful than that because sometimes the argument comes with force and we need a more powerful force to counter it.

In Matthew 4, we see Jesus demolish the arguments and pretensions being raised by the devil with the word of God after which he (the devil) departed.

“If you are the Son of God, turn these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c] ” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test”

Yours may not be the word of God but a situation can be used to speak to you. You can still find a quotation to counter it.

We sometimes hear people say they hear voices, the next thing you know the voice is telling them what to do. It is only the word of God that can silence that voice.

I don’t think the enemy came to stand face-to-face with Jesus. The battle was on the mind. When the enemy comes, his target is your mind. If he is able to control your mind, he can do whatever he wants with you. Through your own mind he can kill you. That is why some people commit suicide. He plants a seed first in the mind, and if you allow it to take root, then he starts working from there. That is why we don’t have to entertain negative thoughts.

Anyone can be captive, even rich men. I was surprised to hear someone say they became depressed when they became rich. The fear of losing all one has worked for can make you captive in the mind. What will people say?

Loss of a loved one can make one captive in the mind. As you keep thinking about your pain, it brings you more grief and the devil will also be adding insult to your injury and then it turns into something else. We are instructed to only ”meditate day and night on the word of God to observe to do according to all that is written therein..” according to Joshua 1:8; and not entertain thoughts that would take our minds captive.

If you find yourself in that situation and you can earnestly pray and ask the Lord Jesus to save you, you will be delivered.

Are you afraid of something? Are you anxious? Some of the causes of captivity in the mind is fear, anxiety, self-pity and regret, impending disgrace, despair, etc. The bible says “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 6-7, NKJV).

Always try to have a free mind. Don’t allow situations to overwhelm you. It may be difficult but no matter how you see it, it is God who can help you overcome, so why don’t you cast it on him? Spending sleepless nights to think about it won’t solve it. It will only compound the problem. If you don’t turn to God in prayer, the enemy will use it to his advantage; giving pictures of how serious it can get and how you cannot get out of it. You can imagine his solution. Why don’t you kill yourself to end it all? Why don’t you leave this marriage? Why don’t you kill him? Listen, you can kill, but it won’t end there. You have opened up a case in heaven.

The devil can use just a word to plant a seed in your mind that when you entertain it, it will ‘gain root’ and make you captive. In captivity, it is do as I say; but if you learn to put your worries on Jesus, no amount of words will get at you. Somebody can make you feel useless, but if you let it get at you, you will be held captive in the mind.

You have come to believe that you are not good enough. You feel people only see negative things about you. You are special to God. You are one of the people God is looking for to dumbfound the world. 1 Corinthians 1:28 says “God chose the lowly and despised things of the world and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are”. Pull yourself together and rise again with confidence in the Lord and you will move mountains.