“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” – 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)
I love how the Message translation explains this: “…fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”
Our mind is composed of our thoughts, our will, and our emotions. This is exactly what this Scripture reveals we have the ability to strengthen and structure through Christ. In the same way that Wonder Woman has a golden lasso that forces anyone within its grasp to tell the truth, we have the Word of God that has the power to wrangle rouge, lying thoughts and force them into proclaiming the truth He has established. Did you know that there is no thought we can produce that is too destructive, too compelling, or too powerful to break loose of the weapon God has given us? He shares this reassuring truth with us in his Word:
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT)
If we get a reality of the thoughts that God thinks about us and for us, we have an unstoppable force to set out with the intent of capturing the weak and destructive products of our mind. We can quite literally force rouge thoughts into submitting to the truth we choose to believe. He loves us, He is for us, He has a plan for our lives… We can discover all these truths and store them in the depths of our heart by regularly reading his Word. The Word of God is our golden lasso to seize rebellious thought-patterns in their tracks and bring them under the authority of Jesus. When we apply scripture in context, we are bringing our lives into alignment with His Word. And just like any skill, we have to practice our tool in order to master it.
Scripture is powerful, and will always accomplish it’s purpose (see Isaiah 55:11). But what is that purpose exactly?
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” – 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)
In the process of becoming, of fitting every aspect of our lives into the structure of a life shaped by Christ, scripture is vital to bring our human, sinful, and rouge ways into submission under the superhuman, Kingdom-minded way of life God originally designed for us. If we passively disregard the need to exercise and strengthen our Wonder Woman state of mind, we essentially forfeit our superpowers. We diminish our own effectiveness in being a world-changer for the cause of Christ.
Wonder Woman has a strong, confident voice that commands the room. You will never see her have a casual conversation with a bad guy over a cup of coffee, or let the perpetrator in her lasso’s grip off with a warning. She will not make friends with her enemies. Our thoughts are no different. We cannot make friends with our rogue thoughts or weaknesses and hope they’ll get better as a result. We will never see progress unless we pull tight on the lasso of truth around our mind and force it to speak the truth.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
– Romans 12:2 (NLT)
“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
– Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT)
We came into this world has merely human, but God has given us a new nature through the power of His son, Jesus: a superhuman, Wonder Woman nature. Once we learn that truth, we can work in step with His Spirit to change out our weakness for strength, our lies for truth, and our ordinary for extraordinary. So grab your lasso, girl! Hold it firm, be uncompromising in your quest for truth, and experience the strength that God has intended us to have in this life.
