Captivating Faith

I recall a time in my life when anyone in their 30’s was old, 40’s and 50’s were near the end of their life, and anyone older were on borrowed time. And the drama didn’t stop there. I remember thinking about when my parents would die (a few years from that moment because they were old and near the end of their life) and my mind would spin off in a gazillion drama-filled directions. What would happen to my brother and me? Would we become orphans? What would I tell my friends? How would I feel? I knew my school work would suffer (unless I poured myself into my studies and lived in denial of what had happened), my friends would try to get me to talk and would fail, and I would probably need serious counseling. Through all of this, my true friends would be revealed (including the love of my life). These were the dramatic musings of pre-teen (and early teen) Alisha.

Drama, drama, drama…

I would love to tell you that I grew out of it, that I matured once I became old and near the end of my life (I’m 31 for the 9th time *wink, wink*), but I still get entertainment from a very active imagination. I can proudly say that the drama has lessened significantly and that there are certain scenarios that I do not allow myself to run with (imagining the worst during the unknown only produces stress). For example, living in Alaska with icy roads, the darkest nights imagined, and spotty cell reception can easily breed worst-case scenarios of tragedy when the husband was a little late coming home from work. Obviously, I still have to talk my wild imagination down from not-so-beneficial meanderings. Taking these kinds of thoughts captive is something that I struggle with, but I also know that it’s essential in order to experience peace.

Many people are familiar with the scripture passage that tells us to take every thought captive, but many fail to understand the context of such a well-known quote that’s spoken so flippantly.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ” II Corinthians 10:3:-5 (NIV)

I didn’t understand (and will probably not fully understand this side of eternity) the power wielded in simply controlling my racing mind. But when this passage mentions demolishing strongholds, arguments, and every claim that is contrary to who we know God to be, I immediately recognize that in order to have any power at all we first have to know who God is. I will always fail in regards to controlling my racing thoughts if I have an incorrect knowledge of who God is.

If you’re a parent, have you every experienced that moment of joyous reunion with your child (or witnessed such a reunion)? You may have been gone for a few minutes or several days, but when you return, you’re greeted with shrieks and squeals of elated delight by your kiddos. They run with abandon with their arms out wide in preparation to jump into your embrace for a hug that puts all other hugs to shame. Now imagine your child approaches you with caution and only when called. They’re not sure what to expect from you; a loving embrace or a painful lesson. That poor kiddo! Is this how we see God?

I’m part of several Christian groups online and cringe when I read that people give God credit for the bad things that happen to them. God must be trying to teach them something… There must be sin in their life… God warned that we would have trials and persecution in this world and He’s just making good on that promise… My husband had this happen to him in his 20’s when he fell off a roof and broke his foot. Well-meaning people in his church told him that God just wanted him to slow down to spend time with Him and to look at the broken foot as a blessing and gift from God. What a pile of horse poop! Did God push him off the roof? Ridiculous! Did God cause him to fall off the roof? Absolutely not! Was my husband being punished for sin in his life? If so, God would be unjust. Was this the world giving him a trial and persecuting him? Even non-believers get injured from time to time.

When religion misuses the Mosaic Law, it does tremendous damage to how we see our Daddy. Before you start writing out your comment about how God never changes and the Law was given by God (yada, yada, yada), allow me to finish. The Law was not inaccurate, but it was incomplete. It never provided the three R’s: a response in faith to God, a reliance in faith on God, and a relationship in faith with God. It only provided an impossible task for faithless self-salvation.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:20-21 (NIV)

The Mosaic Law was, and is, incomplete. It pales in comparison to the sacrifice of Christ, can never offer salvation, and only leads to a fleeting sense of self-righteousness before you see all too late that the end result of the Law is death. The Law is not of faith (Galatians 3:12 – please read Galatians 3:10-14 for context) and anything that is not done out of faith is sin (Romans 14:23 – please read entire chapter). While this is a bit of a rabbit trail with knowing who God is, it is vitally important to understand that we are no longer under the curse of the Law or separated from God because of sin (Psalm 103:1-12). Therefore, it would be wrong for God to punish us for sin! There is only One way of salvation, and the Law never has been and never will be it. Salvation is only through faith in Christ Jesus (John 3:16-18, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Acts 10:43, and many more).

When we can get a grip on God not being the parent with a big leather belt (or a wooden spoon, a switch, or just a big, strong hand) who will strike us at any given moment, imagine how precious and beautiful our vision of our Daddy will be! We can run, with abandon, with our arms open wide and jump into the loving embrace of God!

Our response to, reliance on, and relationship with God (all in faith) directly impacts how effective we are in the realm of spiritual warfare. When Paul and Timothy wrote in II Corinthians 10:3-5 regarding demolishing strongholds, arguments, and every claim that is contrary to who God is, they knew a measure of faith would be required. Many believe that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews (though this is not absolutely confirmed and agreed upon), and this little gem is there:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

If we believe God is someone who will strike us or our loved ones with sickness, disease, disabilities, and heartache then what’s the point in taking our thoughts captive? How often do we find that worries and anxious thoughts are more abundant than those of peace and God’s promises? If it is a promise made by God, the answer is always “Yes!” (II Corinthians 1:20). When God promises to never be angry with us again, never attack us again, and never punish us again – believe it! When He tells us that His promise of peace will never be removed, His love will never fail or be shaken, and no weapon raised against us will prevail – believe it! (Isaiah 54:9-10, 15 & 17)

When we believe that God is who HE says He is and not who religion or the world says He is, that’s when we can effectively take every thought captive, demolish strongholds, shut down arguments, and refute every slanderous statement made about God. That’s when we can experience, in this world, a peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:4-8).