“For the weapons of our warfare are not just of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
Wanderlust. This word, first used at the beginning of the twentieth century, has become a well used phrase for young adults now-a-days. It alludes to a feeling that wells up deep inside of a person to wander, travel and explore the world. Originating from the German words ‘wandern’ and ‘lust’ – the direct translation of ‘wanderlust’ is actually ‘enjoyment of hiking’ – but it soon began to mean ‘enjoyment of strolling, roaming about or wandering.’ Fast forward to today where you will generally see the word ‘wanderlust’ on aspiring travelers t-shirts, coffee mugs or captions on Instagram. This eagerness to be somewhere in the world other than where you are, is becoming more popular. After all, it is a beautiful thing to travel the world and to enjoy and experience other cultures and see God’s vast creations and wonders. But, there is always a danger in desiring to be somewhere you’re not, especially if it takes you away from being grateful and enjoying where you are.
Craig Groeschel, lead pastor at Life.Church, has a sermon series called “Mastermind”. One of the main questions that he asks his congregation is: “Do you think about what you think about?” I always have a ton of different things on my mind, reminding me to do things, thinking about the ‘what ifs’ of situations, wondering about the next day or remembering over and over again something that has already happened. I can be out for coffee with a friend and my mind will wander to what I should make for dinner tonight. Or, I’ll be with my husband on a date and thinking about what we should do on the next date we go on. I am always thinking, my thoughts jumping from one thing to the next, all of the time. Yup, 24/7. I have a wanderlust mind. A mind that gets distracted easily and thinks on all of the places in the world other than where it is right now.
In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul calls us to take our thoughts captive under Christ’s obedience. So, when I judge someone, when I have lustful thoughts or when I am angry, I make sure to come before Jesus with these thoughts and ask for help. I ask him to take them captive and destroy them. But what about all my other thoughts? After all, the verse does say EVERY thought. That means not just thoughts that are sinful or tempting, but every thought. Why? Why does God tell us to take every thought captive?
First, our daily, moment by moment wandering thoughts are distracting from the present. Distraction is incredibly dangerous . . . mostly because we don’t ever realize that we are distracted! That, my friend, is the master game plan of distraction. So, the thoughts that divert our attention from the present, the things we think on, are distracting us from the joy and the goodness in the present. And, when we are distracted from the present by wandering thoughts, we are distracted from thinking on God. We are thinking on the future and miss out on all that God is doing right now in front of our eyes to get our attention, to meet with us, to pour love on us and to bless us. How am I supposed to hear God tell me to share Jesus with that girl near me at the coffee shop when my mind has wandered into my evening already? We must think about what we are thinking about. Have you, knowingly or unknowingly, been wandering into the pathway of distraction?
One of the greatest examples of wandering in scripture happens to be God’s people after the Exodus. You probably guessed that one! After all, scripture does describe them as ‘wandering’ in the desert for forty years. That’s a lot of wandering! They moved around daily from place to place in search of the promised land. But it wasn’t only their bodies that were wandering – their minds were too! Their minds lived in that promised land already. At first, that was an encouragement to them. It was exciting and seemingly innocent! But the longer it took for them to reach the land God had promised them, the longer living with their minds in the future poisoned that generation of people. The second reason God tells us to take our thoughts captive can be seen in this cautionary tale of the Israelites. Their story is proof that wandering minds lead to wandering hearts. Instead of meeting God each day in gratefulness for where they were, they were constantly thinking on where they were not. This led to discontentment. They began to take for granted their daily supply of manna and quail which was literal food from heaven – from the very hands of God! And so, they wandered many times into the hands of other ‘gods’ and away from the commands of the one true God. They had their thoughts pinned on the promised land like a bulls eye zoomed in on a rifle: The promised land was in complete focus and everything else around became blurry and unimportant. Their eyes were on the prize. Their thoughts started out seemingly innocent, but eventually led them into sin. They hadn’t thought about what they were thinking about. Their thoughts took over. Instead of taking their thoughts captive, their thoughts took them captive. Because of this, they continued to be enslaved even after their Exodus into freedom.
When our mind wanders, it goes to all the ‘what if’ places and worst case scenarios. Lastly, we must take all thoughts captive because a wandering mind is usually a worrying mind. Jesus addresses this in Matthew 6.
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?”
Matthew 6:25-27
When our minds are wandering into the red, danger zone of worry, we tend to let go of our trust in God and tighten our grip on control. But, the more we let our minds think on this worry, the more our faith gets choked out. Jesus continues talking in Matthew 13 about the different types of seeds that are planted when we share the Gospel. He also talks about the many things that can distract or get in the way of the seed of the Gospel message taking root and flourishing into a beautiful, life long faith in Him. One of the seeds He discusses falls among thorns. He says it refers to someone who hears the Words of God, but “the worries of this life . . . choke the word, making it unfruitful.” To be honest, I find myself going to these places in my mind a lot. And those worrying thoughts don’t just stay in my mind, but I feel a tightness in my chest, a pounding in my head and an overwhelming sense of fear. We must take these wandering, worrying thoughts captive or they will chain us and hold us back. Letting these thoughts overwhelm or even live in our minds is not what God has for us, friends!
Do you have a wanderlust mind? Take some time to discern what you think about and then take your thoughts captive under Christ. Recognize your thoughts moment by moment and be ready at all times to invite Jesus in to take them captive. Our thoughts, although not tangibly seen or grasped, are dangerous when left to wander.
Written by: Justine Joy
Refined Joy 
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