Take Holy Control of Your Thoughts

A morning devotion to help you deal with invasive thoughts about your past

by David Roberts

Rom 8:37-39  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

At first glance, this wonderful Scripture seems to be all inclusive. Nothing can separate us from the love of God! More often than not, however, first glances and Scripture may prove to be a poor combination. When you look closely, there is one huge portion missing. In line three of verse 38 there is nothing said about the past.

Forgetting the past…

Paul has more to say about this in Philippians 3: 13 and 14:
“. . .this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press
toward the mark. . .”

Apparently, sometimes at least, we are to beware of things in the past. After all, aren’t all our sins forgiven and thrown into the Sea of God’s Forgetfulness? If you’re like me, sometimes I feel convicted all over again about these sins that even God has forgotten. I used to feel that conviction whenever I let my mind wander. Lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that these occurrences are subtle attacks from satan. Who else could better benefit from having us come under such accusations that cripple us for any good work God has for us in the NOW?

How to battle thinking about past sins

If it is indeed an assault on us, then it is not overstepping or misapplying Scripture to use I John 4:2 and 3 as a weapon against this enemy attack.

1 John 4:2-3  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now
already is in the world.

Here is how I apply this Scripture to those thoughts that plague me. I believe that they come from a spirit other than the Holy Spirit, and therefore I confront them with this: “I demand that you confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh!” Sometimes, if it seems appropriate, I add “the Lord Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” This gives the statement the added power of

I Cor. 12:3. “No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost.”

My experience has been that every time I make this demand on an errant thought (or the power behind it), the thought vanishes. Try it, like I have, and prove God’s Word  is true!

Please let us know in the comments if you try this method, using these Scriptures, and what your results are.

What about thoughts about how people have hurt us?

In addition to getting rid of memories of our past sins, we also need to let God help us to let go of thoughts about those who have hurt us in the past.

In this video, Joyce Meyer addresses this problem.